美国有线新闻 CNN 马克龙和勒庞进入法国大选第二轮 传统政党落马（在线收听）

The European nation of France is one step closer to having a new leader. Polls closed last night in the first round of its 2017 presidential election.

It's been divisive. And the nation is on edge following a terrorist attack that killed a policeman last week in the heart of Paris. ISIS claimed responsibility for that.

The nation's current president, Francois Hollande, is eligible for a second term, but the socialist leader is not seeking, an unusual decision, though his approval ratings have been low for years. So, who he is?

The two candidates who appear to set to face each other on a runoff are Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.

Macron is a centrist candidate who's socially liberal. He has promised that if he's elected, he'll improve the nation's economy and security and he'll work to support the European Union.

Le Pen is the far right candidate, a conservative. She has promised that if she's elected, she'll put a temporary ban on legal immigration to France. She'll close Islamist mosques and she'll take France out of the European Union.

What's interesting here is that neither of the country's major traditional parties had a candidate advanced to the second round of elections. That vote is scheduled to take place on May 2nd.