Macron targets Le Pen as election lead narrows

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hit out at his main election rival, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, as his narrowing lead in polls intensified concerns among supporters that winning a second term is far from assured.

Macron accused Le Pen of "lying" to voters on social policy, having a "racist" programme aimed at dividing society and showing "complacency" in her ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The president is projected to come out on top in Sunday's first round of voting, but far short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off between the top two candidates on April 24 -- and with Le Pen close behind.

Adding to the intrigue, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is snapping at their heels in third place and still fancies his chances of causing an upset by reaching the second round.

While Macron easily beat Le Pen in the 2017 run-off, polls have shown a much tighter scenario this time, with the far-right leader reducing her gap with the incumbent each week.

The candidates of France's traditional parties, the right-wing Republicans and the Socialists on the left, are facing a debacle on election night, continuing a shake-up of French politics begun when the centrist Macron took power in 2017.

Le Pen said Thursday that she had never been "so close" to power at a jubilant final rally in her party's southern stronghold of Perpignan.

In front of around 4,000 supporters chanting "President Marine!" and "We're going to win!" Le Pen promised to help French families struggling with inflation and compared Macron to a "stunned boxer."

"Never forget and tell people around you: if the people vote, the people will win," she said in a speech that repeatedly appealed to the roughly one quarter of French adults who are expected to abstain on Sunday. 

The war in Ukraine as well as strains on the health system after two years of Covid-19 are high among voter concerns, behind the biggest worries of all: inflation and incomes.

Macron, criticised by some for doing only minimal campaigning as he dealt with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sought Friday to regain the initiative by turning the fire on Le Pen.

In an interview with the Parisien daily, he accused Le Pen of deceiving France with promises of social spending that she would not be able to finance.

"She is lying to people as she would not be able to do this," he said.