European leaders choose sides in French run-off

Berlin

WITH the future of Europe in French hands, the continent's leaders have cast aside their tradition of staying out of each other's elections and weighed in with some unsolicited advice: Pick the candidate who wants to make the European Union (EU) stronger, not the one who wants to blow it up.

Hearty endorsements of independent centrist Emmanuel Macron - and the stinging dismissals of his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen - came from across European capitals in the hours after French voters whittled their presidential choices to two on Sunday.