French presidential race goes to country

FRENCH presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is hunting for votes in rural areas where his far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen, has made recent inroads.

Ms Le Pen has sought to appeal to people with difficult access to public services and other modern conveniences. Macron said, if elected, his government would intervene directly if mobile operators fail within 18 months to install high-speed fibre optic and phone networks “everywhere”.