The Latest: France's far-left Melenchon holds canal rally
PARIS (AP) - The Latest on France's two-round presidential election (all times local):
6:50 p.m.
French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is taking his far-left, anti-globalization campaign through the canals of Paris as his popularity soars six days before the election.
FILE - In this April 9 2017 file photo, French hard-left presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, speaks in Marseille, southern France. Do voters judge a book by its cover? France's presidential candidates certainly think they do, and more than ever are trying to get their political message across through their wardrobes, from centrist Emmanuel Macron's regular-guy suits to far right leader Marine Le Pen's masculine dark wardrobe and hard-left Melenchon's communist-inspired jackets.(AP Photo/Claude Paris, File)
Thousands of supporters lined the canals in eastern Paris as Melenchon floated through Monday, many of them chanting "President! President!"
Melenchon has risen in polls ahead of the first round of France's presidential election on April 23, with some pollsters saying he could have a chance of reaching the May 7 presidential runoff.
That is rattling markets and prompting attacks from his rivals. They warn that his promises to heavily tax the rich and renegotiate France's role in the EU would devastate the French economy.
Melenchon, 65, spent decades in mainstream politics, serving in a Socialist government and in parliament. He now leads a far-left alliance that includes the Communist Party.
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6:25 p.m.
French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has pledged to represent an "open, confident, winning France" in contrast with his far-right and far-left rivals.
Without naming them, Macron suggested Monday that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon want to isolate France form the rest of the world. Speaking at a big rally in Paris, Macron says "Some want us to believe ... that France will isolate itself."
Warning against the consequences of a vote for the far-right, he said "we feel everywhere the temptation of barbarism ready to surge in other guises."
Macron, an independent centrist with pro-business, pro-European views, is among the front-runners in France's unpredictable presidential race. The top two vote-getters in the first round Sunday will advance to the May 7 presidential runoff.
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12:50 p.m.
French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen hope to rally big crowds in Paris with their rival visions for Europe's future.
Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, enjoying a late poll surge, is campaigning on a barge Monday floating through the canals of Paris. And conservative candidate Francois Fillon is taking his tough-on-security campaign to the southern French city of Nice, which was scarred by a deadly truck attack last year that killed 86 people.
The French presidential race is being watched internationally as an important gauge of populist sentiment, and the outcome is increasingly uncertain just six days before Sunday's first round vote.
Le Pen's nationalist rhetoric and Melenchon's anti-globalization campaign have resonated with French voters sick of the status quo. Macron, meanwhile, is painting himself as an anti-establishment figure seeking to bury the traditional left-right spectrum that has governed France for decades.
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10 a.m.
French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker well connected in the business world, has fended off questions about his elitist image on BFM television.
He says Monday "the money I earned in my life, I earned it. I have not been given gifts."
He accused rivals of pandering to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and tried to distance himself from Fillon, whose austerity-focused campaign has been damaged by accusations that he misused taxpayer money to pay his wife and children for government jobs that they allegedly did not perform. French investigators are probing the case.
Fillon denies wrongdoing and is focusing instead on security issues that resonate with many voters after two years of deadly attacks across the country.
A poster for independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is displayed in Paris, France, Monday, April 17, 2017. French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are hoping to bring in big crowds at competing rallies in Paris as the unpredictable race nears its finish. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)
French anti-riot officers stand next to a placard of far-right National Front leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen during a protest march from suburban Aubervilliers to Paris, Sunday, April 16, 2017. Le Pen is one of the top contenders in France first-round presidential vote on April 23. A presidential runoff is being held May 7. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
FILE - In this Feb.5, 2017 file photo, French far-right leader presidential candidate Marine Le Pen acknowledges applause in Lyon, central France. Do voters judge a book by its cover? France's presidential candidates certainly think they do, and more than ever are trying to get their political message across through their wardrobes, from centrist Emmanuel Macron's regular-guy suits to far right leader Marine Le Pen's masculine dark wardrobe and hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon's communist-inspired jackets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - In this July 12, 2016 file photo, French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron attends a rally for his movement, En Marche! (In Motion!), in Paris. Do voters judge a book by its cover? France's presidential candidates certainly think they do, and more than ever are trying to get their political message across through their wardrobes, from centrist Emmanuel Macron's regular-guy suits to far right leader Marine Le Pen's masculine dark wardrobe and far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon's communist-inspired jackets. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 27 2016 file photo, Francois Fillon acknowledges applause after the official announcement of results in the conservative party's national primary election in Paris. Do voters judge a book by its cover? France's presidential candidates certainly think they do, and more than ever are trying to get their political message across through their wardrobes, from centrist Emmanuel Macron's regular-guy suits to far right leader Marine Le Pen's masculine dark wardrobe and far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon's communist-inspired jackets. Fillon, 63, took a major blow in the polls over accusations of corruption that were aggravated by a report that he allegedly accepted gifts of designer suits worth more than 48,000 euros ($52,000). (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
A man walks past electoral posters displaying the presidential candidates, Benoit Hamon, left, Emmanuel Macron, center, and Marine Le Pen in Paris, France, Monday, April 17, 2017. French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are hoping to bring in big crowds at competing rallies in Paris as the unpredictable race nears its finish. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)
A poster for far-right candidate for the presidential election Marine Le Pen is displayed in Paris, France, Monday, April 17, 2017. French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are hoping to bring in big crowds at competing rallies in Paris as the unpredictable race nears its finish. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)