Macron campaign for French presidency off to slower start than Le Pen - poll

Emmanuel Macron (C), head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, kicks a soccer ball during a campaign visit in Sarcelles, near Paris, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Martin Bureau/Pool

PARIS/LE GRAU DU ROI, France (Reuters) - France's presidential candidates battled for the popular vote on Thursday with far-right Marine Le Pen wooing fishermen and Emmanuel Macron playing soccer as polls showed the centrist's commanding lead narrow marginally.

As runner-up in last Sunday's opening ballot, Le Pen remained the underdog, but several polls suggested she had made a more impressive start to the last lap of campaigning than Macron.