Disillusioned far-left voters have warned they will not be supporting centrist Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen in the final round of France’s presidential election.

A total of 19.5 per cent of the electorate backed Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round vote 10 days ago, but the far-left candidate has given no instructions to his supporters over how to vote in the decisive round on Sunday.

Centrist and liberal Mr Macron is portrayed by his critics as the candidate of the same-old failed political system, while far-right Marine Le Pen is not an option traditional left-wing voters want to consider.

According to a consultation on the voting intentions of Mr Melenchon’s movement “La France Insoumise”, 36 per cent said they would spoil their ballot, 35 per cent said they would vote for Mr Macron and 29 per cent they would not vote at all. It suggests there might not be the flocking towards Mr Macron from the left wing in France that many observers expected.

One of the many shocks of this extraordinary election was felt in the town of Melun, to the south of Paris, where a community that has voted in conservative mayors at every local election since 1971 swung overwhelmingly in favour of Mr Melenchon’s anti-establishment candidacy.

Daniel, who helped organise the successful local campaign for Mr Melenchon, told The Independent: “We worked hard on our campaign in the area and by speaking to people, we managed to convince some who were ready to vote for Ms Le Pen to support Mr Melenchon instead.”

But when Sunday comes, Daniel said he intends to spoil his ballot and that he hopes the result will be tight enough to send a warning to mainstream politicians.

He said: “We want to show French people are fed up to see all the same politics. People want to see something new. A Macron presidency will no doubt see many current ministers back in government.”

A diverse and multicultural suburb, Melun has recently seen the development of a range of programmes to welcome and support refugees and migrants.

The town has a longstanding history of attracting immigrant populations but many, like Portuguese Alfonso Fernandez, 68, a Melun resident for 52 years, still do not have French citizenship and are unable to vote in the election.

In the town’s main library, people from Tibet, Eritrea, Syria and Iraq are learning French using the library’s many foreign language resources and other services.

An important culture hub in the heart of the town, only a few hundred metres from a prison, the library has become a vital centre of support for any newcomers.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election French expats queue along the street outside the Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle to cast their vote in a polling station inside the school, in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election, in London, Britain April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor - RTS13JM5 REUTERS French Presidential Election People line up to vote in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Vaulx-en-Velin near Lyon, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot - RTS13HSP REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election Francois Fillon (L), member of the Republicans political party and 2017 French presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, casts his vote in the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Christophe Archambault/Pool - RTS13IH0 REUTERS French Presidential Election Benoit Hamon (C), French Socialist party 2017 presidential candidate, is surrounded by photographers as he leaves a polling station after voting in the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Trappes, near Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler - RTS13I0Y REUTERS French Presidential Election French President Francois Hollande collects voting slips before casting his ballot in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Tulle, France, on April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Georges Gobet/Pool - RTS13ITO REUTERS French Presidential Election A policeman walks by election posters near a polling station during the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann - RTS13I3A REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, waves hand during in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - RTS13ICH SAA/ French Presidential Election Jean-Luc Melenchon, candidate of the French far-left Parti de Gauche and candidate for the French 2017 presidential election, leaves a polling booth in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTS13IKB REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot Marine Le Pen (L), French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, casts her ballot in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, April 23, 2017. At R, Mayor of Henin-Beaumont Steeve Briois. REUTERS/Charles Platiau - RTS13IEI REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy Live News. J21KYW Paris, France. 23rd April 2017. Marcon supporters wave French and EU flags after the announcement that he is the leader in the exit polls after the polling stations have been closed. Supporters of Emmanuel Macron, the Presidential candidate from the social liberal political party En Marche! celebrate the exit polls, that see him in first place, ahead of Marine Le Pen from the Front National in the first round of the French Presidential election. Credit: Michael Debets/Alamy Live News This is an Alamy Live News image and may not be part of your current Alamy deal . If you are unsure, please contact our sales team to check. Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

But if on the surface the city shows welcoming sentiments to refugees, its left-wing voters will leave others to decide the fate of France’s immigration policy on Sunday.

Elizabeth, from the Republic of the Congo, said she was forced to flee her country because of fighting in her home town. She came to Melun in 2000 but is not able to vote.

She told The Independent that following the election’s first round, she was harassed in the street by a supporter of Ms Le Pen.

“On Saturday, I was verbally attacked in Melun. ‘We are going to vote for Ms Le Pen and you are going to go back to where you came from’, someone told me. There is already tension. We don’t know what we will be become of us.

“I came to France to study and came back here because it is the only place where I feel safe. All the candidates promise paradise but when they are elected, nothing happens,” she said.

With a population shy of 41,000, according to the latest Insee census, only just over 19,000 people were registered to vote in the election. Among those registered, one in three people abstained.

But the percentage of abstention and spoilt ballots could rise significantly on Sunday with many who voted for Mr Melenchon saying there will not support either Mr Macron or Ms Le Pen.

French Election: Macron and Le Pen to fight for presidency

Timothé, from Ivory Coast, arrived in France at the age of 21. He too voted for Mr Melenchon in the first round but will spoil his ballot in the second. If he was compelled to choose, he said he would vote Front National.

He said: “I love this country and I have lived most of my life here but everything is getting worse. Ms Le Pen, at least, has a coherent programme. It is true that uncontrolled borders are leading to terror attacks. If we are welcoming people, we should be able to look after them and provide them with shelter – not let them on the streets of Paris.

“France is a mixed society and even if she is elected, Ms Le Pen can’t chuck out of the country all those who are not 100 per cent French.”​

Eric Lafaille, from the group Attac, an alliance of several left-wing movements to fight against tax evasion, said many people from the group would have voted for Mr Melenchon but now the general consensus was anything but Le Pen.