Voting is taking place across France in the country’s first round of presidential elections – as Emmanuel Macron faces far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
Ms Le Pen posed an unexpected threat to President Macron’s administration – and although he continues to lead opinion polls, several polls suggest that this is now in error.
The first round of voting, with people choosing one of 12 candidates, began at 8 am local time (7 am British time) and ends at 8 pm local time (7 pm British time), when the first exit polls will be announced.
Some French citizens living abroad in the United States and Canada have already voted.
When are the presidential elections in France, who is running and how are they working?
Image: French citizens stand in line as they arrive to vote at the French Embassy in Washington
The result is wide open
Until two weeks ago, it seemed that this would be an easy victory for the French pro-European centrist leader.
But his late entry into the campaign – with just one big and unconvincing rally – and his focus on an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age damaged his ratings.
While Mr Macron’s focus was on the war in Ukraine, the anti-immigration Eurosceptic Ms Le Pen was reinforced by a long-standing focus on the cost of living crisis.
Amid a sharp rise in inflation, it was also helped by a drop in support for its main far-right rival, Eric Zemor.
“We are ready and the French are with us,” Ms Le Pen said to the applause of her supporters on Thursday, urging them to cast a ballot for her to inflict the “just punishment that those who ruled us so badly deserve” .
Mr Macron, who has held the post since 2017, told Ms Le Pen: “Its foundations have not changed: it is a racist program that aims to divide society and is very brutal.”
Ms Le Pen rejects accusations of racism.
Read more: European markets are worried as France’s right wing gains strength
Image: Ms Le Pen rejects accusations of racism
Mr Macron, the youngest president in French history, has also been criticized in recent weeks for maintaining an open dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki compared the French president’s telephone conversations with Putin to talks with Hitler.
In response, Macron called the Eastern European leader “an extreme right-wing anti-Semite who bans LGBT people.”
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0:58 February: Putin and Macron meet
What happens next?
This is only the first round of voting, and assuming that no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote – which did not happen after the re-election of Charles de Gaulle in 1965 – the first two candidates advance to the next round.
It is this run-off, which is currently scheduled for April 24, that will decide who will become president. The two contenders are expected to be Mr Macron and Mrs Le Pen.
However, the president faces a potential problem in the second ballot, as many left-wing voters told sociologists that, unlike in 2017, they will not vote for him just to keep Ms. Le Pen out of power.
“Marine Le Pen has never been so close to winning a presidential election,” said Jean-Daniel Levy of a Harris Interactive poll on Ms. Le Pen’s third appearance at the Elysee Palace.
Supporters of staunch candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who ranks third in opinion polls, have called on left-wing voters to switch to their candidate and send him to the runoff.
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