PARIS — France's political mainstream, shut out of the presidency by an angry electorate, united Monday to urge voters to back centrist Emmanuel Macron in the presidential runoff and to reject Marine Le Pen's populist nationalism.
Politicians on the moderate left and right, including French President Francois Hollande and the losing Socialist and Republicans party candidates in Sunday's first-round vote, maneuvered to block Le Pen's path to power in the May 7 runoff.
In a solemn address from the Elysee palace, Hollande said he will vote for Macron, his former economy minister, because the far-right Le Pen represents "both the danger of the isolation of France and of rupture with the European Union."
Hollande said the far-right would "deeply divide France" at a time when the terror threat requires "solidarity.
"Faced with such a risk, it is not possible to remain silent or to take refuge in indifference," he said.
European stock markets surged, and France's main index hit its highest level since early 2008, as investors gambled that the rise of populism around the world — and its associated unpredictability in policymaking — may have peaked.
Voters narrowed the French presidential field from 11 to two on Sunday. The contest is widely seen as a litmus test for the populist wave that last year prompted Britain to vote to leave the European Union and U.S. voters to elect Donald Trump president.
Only the defeated far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, pointedly refused to back Macron.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.