Leave it to Al Reuters to completely misrepresent the candidates philosophies.
"Centrist" Maricon is about as socialist as you can get, while Le Pen believes in larger government handouts - hardly "Far Right."
Not really. This is France we’re talking about, which has a vibrant Communist Party. Melenchon was the radical candidate ala Bernie.
Macron is a crony capitalist meglomaniac who is like a young, less ugly Hillary.
You can't read European news the same way that you read American news. Here's why:
Europe views all politics/government through a socialistic lens. To them, the Left Wing of the "bird of socialism" is communism (e.g. no private property) while their Right Wing of that same "bird of socialism" is fascism (e.g. police state, but private property is ok).
Broadly, Europe doesn't understand "American Exceptionalism," the rugged individual, or an economy undirected by government.
Americans make the above understanding worse by misusing "Left Wing" as being equal to "liberal" and "Right Wing" as being equal to the conservative view of individual rights and small government.
So even when we speak the same language our words to each other don't convey the correct meanings.
When Europeans say "Left Wing" they don't mean "liberals." Only Americans mean that.
When Europeans say "Right Wing" they don't mean Conservatives. Only Americans mean that.
Europeans only know flavors of Socialism. Their Left Wing and their Right Wing refer to which flavor of Socialism.
Using those same words inside the USA means something else entirely.