If confirmed, he will also become the first president from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic's foundation in 1958.
A bitterly fought election concluded on Sunday amid massive security.
Mr Macron's supporters have gathered to celebrate in central Paris.
Emmanuel Macron beats Marine Le Pen with 65 per cent of vote
Emmanuel Macron has beaten Marine Le Pen in Sunday's French election and taken more than 60 per cent of the vote, according to several early exit polls.
Polling conducted by Ipsos, Ifop and BVA all gave Mr Macron, the pro-business candidate, a strong lead over Front National leader Marine Le Pen.
It comes after a massive hacking attack on Mr Macron's campaign database over the weekend which saw hundreds of thousands of private emails and official documents dumped online.
Exit poll - Macron wins with 60 per cent of vote
An early exit poll from Ifop says Emmanuel Macron has won with between 60 and 63 per cent of the vote.
Most polls have now closed
Only those in larger cities now remain open, and in just under one hour an exit poll is expected.
Over at the Louvre, Team Macron is doing soundchecks in preparation for what could be his victory speech.
Over at Marine Le Pen's HQ, some journalists are grumbling that they have been banned from attending post-election events. Others refused to turn up in solidarity.
Could abstentions prove key to a Macron win?
It was thought that Mr Macron could build a larger voting base than Ms Le Pen, as he was expected to mop up votes in the second round from those who support mainstream Right and Left candidates in the first.
But it appeared last night that a large number of supporters for the conservative, Francois Fillon, and the far-Left Jean-Luc Melenchon stayed home on election day.
And a vast number chose to spoil their ballots or abstain at the polls - as many as 29% of voters, according to one estimate.
Polling conducted by Ifop after the first round of voting revealed that many voters had already decided to abstain in the second round.
Over a third of those who voted for Mélenchon in the first round said that they'd abstain, while a quarter of Fillon's supporters said the same.
Collectively, these two candidates attracted 39.5 per cent of the vote in the first round, and so their supporters' allegiances are crucial in deciding who will win today.
An abstention rate of 26 per cent would be the lowest in France since 1969.
Man votes, then collapses and dies
Making his democratic choice was the very last act in the life of one unfortunate man in the Paris region this morning.
The 89-year-old had just slipped his voting ballot into the urn when he was overcome with chest pains and collapsed in the town of Draveil, Le Parisien newspaper reported.
Medics tried to revive him but a doctor later pronounced him dead.
French media refuses to cover Le Pen's speeches
Libération newspaper says it is boycotting the electoral events of Marine Le Pen this evening - whether she wins or loses - in solidarity with other French and foreign media outlets who have been refused access to them.
The left-wing daily says it will not carry any coverage of the events, during which Ms Le Pen is due to make a speech after the election results are announced, because the Front National has refused access to the gathering in a park in the east of Paris tonight to about a dozen media organisations.
"These anti-democratic measures, which are also contrary to the right to keep the public informed, must stop, as must the intimidation of journalists in (Le Pen) political rallies," wrote senior Libération editor Johan Hufnagel.
Investigation launched after Macron data hack
Paris prosecutors are investigating the hacking attack on presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron's campaign that led to thousands of files being leaked online, a source close to the case has told AFP.
The source said the probe was opened on Friday, the same day as the flood of documents were posted on the internet ahead of Sunday's run-off vote.
A picture taken in Paris, on May 5, 2017, shows vandalised campaign posters of French presidential election candidate for the En Marche ! movement, Emmanuel Macron.
The key statistics so far
- The first exit poll is expected at 8pm French time (7pm UK time)
- Belgian media have published polling data which predicts 60 per cent of the vote has gone to Macron
- Voter turnout has dropped to just 60 per cent, compared to 2012's turnout of 70 per cent
Can Le Pen still beat Macron?
The Telegraph's data team has taken a close look at polling results and voter habits to see whether Ms Len Pen could pull off a shock victory today.
Macron is still widely expected to be able to build a broader voting base than anti-establishment Marine Le Pen. This is due to the fact that many of the first-round supporters of conservative François Fillon and far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who collectively attracted 39.5 per cent of the vote, are expected to now switch to Macron.
Le Pen and Macron return to HQ as they await first results
Both Marine le Pen and Emmanuel Macron have arrived in their respective campaign headquarters in Paris after casting their votes this morning in towns in the north of France.
Now they settle down for a nail-biting wait until 8 pm local time, when the winner of the most unpredictable French presidential election in decades will be announced.
Low turnout continues continues into evening
As of 5pm, turnout was 65.3 per cent - lower than in the first round of voting.
It's also lower than 2012's second round of voting which was around 70 per cent.
Low turnout is bad news for Team Macron as it indicates voters who saw their top choice eliminated in the first round have stayed at home today.
The campaign hopes those who supported mainstream figures on the Right and Left in the first round would choose Mr Macron as a safe option in the second round.
Marine Le Pen's father says she is 'not fit for presidency'
Voting is underway in France's general election, with Emmanuel Macron poised to take victory from far-Right Front National candidate Marine Le Pen.
Mr Macron, a pro-EU centrist, is firmly ahead of Ms Le Pen in the polls - though she hopes to upset the establishment with a shock result similar to the Brexit vote.
It comes after a massive hacking attack on Mr Macron's campaign database over the weekend which saw hundreds of thousands of private emails and official documents dumped online.
Early poll - Macron to win with 60 per cent of vote
According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Mr Macron will win with around 60 per cent of the vote.
He has also enjoyed vast support from voters abroad and in French territories, according to the report, citing a poll carried out on Sunday.
Due to tough election regulations, the French media are barred from reporting this kind of information - so expect a lot of predictions from Belgian newspapers and TV in the hours to come.
A caveat - this is an early prediction.
Why this election will shape Brexit Britain's future
This mercurial election, in which the establishment parties of the Left and Right appear to have fallen by the wayside, will shape the coming Brexit negotiations and could – if far-Right Front National (FN) leader Marine Le Pen wins – even determine the future of the EU itself, writes Europe Editor Peter Foster.
Protest voting: a cautionary tale
This voter is getting a substantial amount of flak on Twitter for saying she voted Le Pen as she just wants to "p*** people off."
Pundits say a potential risk to Mr Macron's victory, which seems likely at this stage, would be a surge in disgruntled voters who lost their top choice in the first round choosing Le Pen to give the establishment a kicking.
This voter's aim seems to be simply winding people up - she has already got what she wished for.
Louvre security back to normal
French police say they have finished checking the courtyard near the Louvre - where Mr Macron's election party will be held tonight, and that things are back to normal.
The courtyard was evacuated earlier today amid security concerns.
The politics of winning
Where does one celebrate victory after winning the French presidency? The victor has to be very careful not to send the wrong message - and get off to a bad start in the new job - with his or her choice of venue.
Celebration sites have a huge symbolic power, and both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are seeking to break with the past and the traditional left-right divide.
Nicolas Sarkozy got blasted for being far too bling bling when the conservative politician chose the fabled Fouquet's restaurant on the Champs Elysées after he won the presidency in 2007, and Mr Macron was criticised for partying in the fashionable Rotonde restaurant after his first round win two weeks ago.
The centrist candidate has opted for the dignified Esplanade du Louvre, the courtyard of the museum in central Paris, to make an appearance and a speech to cheering crowds if he wins tonight.
He steered well away from both the Bastille and République squares, which are both associated with the left, and from Place de la Concorde, where Mr Sarkozy gave a victory speech in 2012 before heading to the high-society party in Fouquet's.
Ms Le Pen plans to celebrate at the Chalet du Lac restaurant in the Bois de Vincennes, a huge park in eastern Paris, if she comes out on top tonight. She is notably staying away from the area around the Paris Opera, where her firebrand father and founder of her far-Right Front National, Jean-Marie le Pen, would every year make a high-profile speech on may Day.
French astronaut tackles low turnout from space
France's astronaut on board the International Space Station has sent a message from outer space calling on French citizens to do their democratic duty and vote in today's presidential election.
Thomas Pesquet tweeted from the spaceship a reminder to his compatriots that they should get out and cast their ballot.
"I've done it by proxy, so there's no excuse," he wrote.
Pollsters say that many voters may abstain, refusing to choose between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
Abstentions are likely to be highest among left-wing voters who feel disenfranchised by Sunday's choice after nine other candidates were eliminated in the first round.
Macron's election party venue evacuated
A spokesman for the Macron campaign has said that a courtyard near the Louvre museum where post-election celebrations are due to be held has been evacuated over security concerns.
She did not give further details. The evacuation was ordered by police according to AP.
France is on high alert following a spate of terror attacks in Paris, Normandy and Nice.
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) called for "lone wolf" attacks to be carried out by extremists in France in the run up to the election.
/The Telegraph/
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