Macron himself watched the preliminary results together with his wife and his campaign team in private
The first projections showed Macron securing around 57-58% of the vote.
The French Catholic right has always held the image of the eternal Orthodox Russia close to heart.
French President Emmanuel Macron interjected with "oy oy oy" while Marine Le Pen was speaking about economics in the debate.
Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron will compete for the French presidency in the second round of elections.
“If she does not change the photo, we will call to vote for Macron,” National Jewish Rally leader Jean-Richard Sulzer said.
Le Pen over the last years had expressed her admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and said France should be "equidistant" between Russia and the US.
Officials in Israel’s national institutions do not see any potential rise in interest in aliyah to Israel as a result of the possible political change.
Eric Zemmour, a far-right politician who is Jewish, received only 7% of the vote in the first round, eliminating him from this year’s election.
Macron garnered 28% of the vote, compared with 23% for Marine Le Pen. The result was much better for Macron than the one predicted by the polls over the weekend.