France's presidential election: Five takeaways from the polls

The election has been a disappointment for some candidates and also has some uncomfortable aspects for President Macron. Here are five takeaways from France's presidential election.

President Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen will battle for the presidency in a repeat of their 2017 run-off, but the results of the first round show changing dynamics in French politics and society.

Here are five things that we learnt from the election, which was a devastating disappointment for some of Macron's rivals but also has uncomfortable aspects for the president despite polls giving him an edge for the second round on April 24.

For a president who is just 44-years-old and who came to office in 2017 as France's youngest modern leader, it is striking that Macron lagged among young voters on Sunday.

Over a third -- 34.8-36 per cent -- of people aged 18 to 24 voted for far-left third placed candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round, with just 21-24.3 percent backing Macron, according to surveys by Harris Interactive and Ifop.

Among the 25-34 age group, he fared even worse, with just 19.3-21 per cent backing the incumbent, behind both Le Pen and Melenchon.

"It's a generational phenomenon," the head of Macron's party in parliament, Christophe Castaner, told BFM television, adding that he hoped young people would be "mobilised" by environmental issues.

However, surveys showed that amongst the oldest generations, Macron was by far the most popular candidate.