Macron, 44, voted in Le Touquet, near his second home, with his wife, Brigitte, on Sunday as his main candidate, Marine Le Pen, did the same in her constituency of Pas-de-Calais. Ms. Lepen, 53, has been an unexpected threat to President Macron’s government since launching her campaign later, choosing to focus on the crisis in Ukraine. Image: Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte go to the polls at Le Touquet Despite being far ahead of her in opinion polls a month ago, the National Rally candidate has narrowed the gap significantly in recent weeks by appealing to voters worried about the cost-of-living crisis. Lepen on the verge of error for the first time Several polls now say that after two unsuccessful attempts at the Elysian Palace, he is on the verge of winning for the first time. Image: National Rally candidate Marin Le Pen votes on Henin-Beaumont The first round of voting, with a selection of 12 candidates, began at 8 a.m. local time (7 am UK time) and ends at 20:00 local time (7 pm UK time), when the first exit polls will be published. Lunch figures raise turnout to just 25.48%. Some French nationals living abroad in the US and Canada have already voted. When is the French presidential election, who is the candidate and how do they work? Image: French citizens stand in line as they arrive to vote at the French Embassy in Washington The result is wide open Commentators have hailed Macron’s fall in his belated run for president, an unpopular decision to raise his retirement age and criticism of his negotiations with Vladimir Putin. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki compared the French president’s telephone conversations with Mr Putin to talks with Adolf Hitler. In response, Mr Macron called the Eastern European leader “an extreme right-wing anti-Semite who bans LGBT people.” Image: Left-wing candidate Jean Luc Melenchon votes in Marseille Image: Greens candidate Yannick Jadot casts his ballot Image: Right-wing candidate Valerie Pecresse votes in Ile-de-France Le Pen, on the other hand, has reduced her usual rhetoric about immigration and the place of Islam in French society, and has also benefited from reduced support for her main far-right rival, former journalist Eric Zemour. Read more: European markets upset as France’s right hand picks up steam Image: Ms Lepen rejects allegations of racism “We are ready and the French are with us,” Le Pen told her cheering supporters on Thursday, urging them to vote for “the just punishment that those who have ruled us so badly deserve.” Mr Macron, who has held the post since 2017, said of Mr Le Pen: “Its basic elements have not changed: it is a racist program that aims to divide society and is very brutal.” Ms Lepen rejects allegations of racism. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:58 February: Putin and Macron meet What happens next? This is just the first round of voting, and assuming no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote – something that has not happened since Charles de Gaulle was re-elected in 1965 – the first two candidates advance to the next round. It is this second run-off, currently scheduled for April 24, that will decide who will become president. The two contenders are widely expected to be Mr Macron and Ms Lepen. However, the president is facing a potential problem in the second ballot, as many left-wing voters have told pollsters that, unlike in 2017, they will not vote for him outright to keep Ms Lepen out of power. “Marine Le Pen has never been so close to winning the presidential election,” said Harris Interactive pollster Jean-Daniel Levy, referring to Le Pen’s third nomination at the Palais des Champs-Elysées. Supporters of hard-line candidate Jean-Luc Melanson, who is third in the polls, called on left-wing voters to turn to their candidate and send him to the second round.
