Journalists line up to enter the Louvre esplanade where centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is expected to address supporters after the second round (Mathieu Rosemain)

Reuters reporters Sarah White and Mathieu Rosemain are in the press queue at Macron's headquarters with members of the press from around the world. Security is tight so there are a lot of checks at the door. Here they are with an update on their progress.

With markets having already rallied following Macron’s
victory in the first round, is there much further to go? Some suggest a potential victory
tonight may not be greeted as gleefully as it was after the first round, as markets have already reacted as if it was a fait accompli.

“On stock markets’ reaction, I fear the saying ‘buy the
rumour, sell the fact’ – this could prove to be the case in the beginning of
the week,” said Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis Asset Management.

And whatever the result tonight, it won’t end uncertainty over French policy - the
next big hurdle will be legislative elections in June, which will either cement
the president’s power or make it difficult for them to pass policies in the case
of a cohabitation scenario.

“There’s the possibility of a gridlock scenario,” said
Isabelle Mateos Y Lago, chief multi-asset strategist at Blackrock. “Whereas if
it turns out that Macron does get voted in, a back of the envelope calculation
suggests [his proposed] corporate tax reductions could boost French corporate earnings by
above 10 percent, if he is able to implement them.”