Presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has emerged as a major force in French politics despite never being elected to office, reports the BBC.
The independent centrist's campaign has been boosted by the setbacks of centre-right rival Francois Fillon, who faces formal investigation over fake job allegations involving his wife.
Mr Macron seems likely to face the far-right National Front's Marine le Pen in a second round of voting, and he is seen as a key defender of liberal European values from populist forces on the continent.
Amid accusations that he was all image and short on substance, he launched his election campaign on 2 March.
What is the general direction of his policies?
Mr Macron has maintained that the left and right in politics are irrelevant and out of fashion.
He was economy minister in President François Hollande's centre-left socialist administration until last year, but has played down his links to Mr Hollande.
His current movement was a new project and definitely not a continuation of Mr Hollande's, he said at the campaign launch.
Instead he has urged France to rediscover its "spirit of conquest", and called for a "transformation" rather than just reform, in which every French citizen would play a part.
What is his response to the Fillon scandal?
As Mr Fillon faces questions over his wife's employment, his rival has proposed eradicating "nepotism" and "conflicts of interest".
"All elected representatives must respect the law and public morality," he said at the launch.
The measures he is proposing include banning MPs from doing any consulting work and banning all officials from employing family or friends.
He is also seeking to cut the size of both chambers of parliament - the National Assembly and the Senate - by a third.
How tough on security?
Mr Macron has not said whether he would lift France's state of emergency, launched following the Paris attacks in November 2015, but he has promised to "evaluate" it.
He said no new measures would be taken on terrorism, and ruled out what he described as symbolic policies such as removing French nationality from dual citizens, which would only divide the country.
He would not accept stigmatising people for their religion, or religious-based bigotry, he added.