French election poll: Macron to beat Le Pen but Le Pen gains ground

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron would beat Marine Le Pen in the country's presidential election later this month, though Le Pen has gained ground in recent weeks, showed an Ipsos Sopra Steria Cevipof poll for Le Monde newspaper.

The poll showed Macron would lead in the first round of votes on April 10, with 26.5% versus 21.5% for Le Pen in second place. Those figures compared to 28% for Macron and 17.5% for Le Pen in the last poll conducted March 21-24, said Ipsos Sopra Steria Cevipof.

Macron would then beat Le Pen in the second round run-off vote on April 24 by 54% to 46%.

French election TAKE-A-LOOK:

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Christopher Cushing)