Amid heightened security, French voters began casting ballots for their next president Sunday in a first-round poll that's seen as a litmus test for the spread of populism around the world and a vote on the future of Europe.

More than 50,000 police and gendarmes were deployed to the 66,000 polling stations for Sunday's election, which comes after Thursday's deadly attack on the Champs-Elysees in which a police officer and a gunman were slain. The presidential poll is the first ever to be held during a state of emergency, put in place since the Paris attacks of November 2015.

Voters are choosing between 11 candidates in the most unpredictable contest in decades.

The vote "is really important, mainly because we really need a change in this country with all the difficulties we are facing and terrorism," said Paris resident Alain Richaud, who was waiting to cast his vote.

Opinion polls point to a tight race among the four leading contenders vying to advance to the May 7 presidential runoff, when the top two candidates will go head to head.

Polls suggest far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, were in the lead. But conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister, who was embroiled in a scandal over alleged fake jobs appeared to be closing the gap, as was far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.

France's 10 percent unemployment, its lackluster economy and security were issues that top concerns for the 47 million eligible voters.

The election is widely seen as a vote on the future of the European Union — with most of the candidates railing against its institutions.

Both Le Pen and Melenchon — two candidates from opposite extremes of the political spectrum — could pull France out of the 28-nation bloc and its shared euro currency in a so-called "Frexit."

A French exit could spell the end of the EU.

If either candidate wins a spot in the runoff, it will be seen as a victory for the rising wave of populism reflected by the votes for Donald Trump in the U.S. and Brexit in Britain.

"It's definitely risky, but I have faith in the result even if an extreme candidate qualifies for the second round," said Beatrice Schopflin, who was queuing to vote in Paris.

Macron and Fillon are committed to European unity and would reform labor rules.

The candidates are voting throughout the day.

Meters from the polling station where Le Pen was heading to vote, several feminist activists from the Femen group were arrested after staging a topless protest against the far-right leader, who is the only major female contender in the race. Police intervened and stopped the commotion minutes before the 48-year-old arrived to cast her ballot in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont. No one was hurt.

Macron, meanwhile, was the image of serenity as he posed for selfies with voters after casting his ballot in the coastal town of Le Touquet in northern France alongside his wife, Brigitte Macron.

Fillon voted in Paris, but his wife — who's been handed preliminary charges for her role in the fake jobs scandal that rocked her husband's campaign — voted 250 kilometers (155 miles) away from him near their 14th century manor house in Sarthe.

This year's roller-coaster campaign has seen much controversy, but some voters appear to have become blasé or turned off from politics.

"There have been surprises, there have always been scandals," said Le Touquet resident Pierre-Antoine Guilluy.

Voter Marie-Christine Colrat said: "Listen, too many candidates. And candidates that caused us a lot of problems, I think that's not a good thing for France."

Unpopular incumbent President Francois Hollande, who pledged last year not to stand for re-election, voted in his political fiefdom of Tulle in Correze, southwestern France.

This year's Socialist party presidential candidate Benoit Hamon cast his ballot in Trappes, a Paris suburb. Melenchon also voted in Paris.

Political campaigning was banned from midnight Friday hours ahead of polls opening in France's far-flung overseas territories such as Guadeloupe, French Polynesia and French Guiana, which all voted a day early Saturday.

Associated Press writers Nadine Achoui-Lesage in Paris, Chris den Hond in Le Touquet and Alex Turnbull in Henin-Beaumont contributed to this report. </s> Voters across France are casting ballots in a presidential election run-off that could decide Europe’s future, choosing between independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen.

With Mr Macron the pollsters’ favourite, voting stations opened across mainland France at 8am under the watch of 50,000 security forces guarding against extremist attacks.

Polling agency projections and initial official results will be available when the final stations close at 8pm.

The unusually tense and unpredictable campaign ended with a hacking attack and document leak targeting Mr Macron on Friday night.

Either candidate would lead France into uncharted territory since neither comes from the mainstream parties that dominate parliament and have run the country for decades. </s> Francois Fillon gestures toward his supporters after declaring victory in the presidential Republican party's runoff primary at Maison de la Chimie in Paris on November 27, 2016. Photo by Yoan Valat/European Press Agency

Far-right candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Marine Le Pen speaks during a campaign rally in Paris on April 17, 2017. Front-runners Le Pen and Centrist Emmanuel Macron held rival rallies ahead of Sunday’s first round presidential vote. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo

Supporters cheer centrist candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Emmanuel Macron during a campaign rally in Paris on April 17, 2017. Overseas voters began to cast their ballots in various French territories on Saturday ahead of the mainland votes on Sunday. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo

April 22 (UPI) -- French citizens living overseas began casting their ballots in the first round of the presidential elections a day ahead of the vote in France.

Voters in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French archipelago south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, Guiana in South America and French Polynesia began voting on Saturday.

French islands Reunion and Mayotte were scheduled to begin voting on Sunday two hours and one hour earlier than the mainland respectively.

The overseas votes are set to be collected and sent to France early to prevent overseas voters from being influenced by the results of the mainland due to time differences.

A blackout on opinion polls was also issued in France at midnight on Friday.

Two out of the eleven eligible candidates will be selected to participate in a runoff vote on May 5.

Emmanuel Macron of the centralist En Marche! party, Marine Le Pen of the far-right Nationalist party and Francois Fillon of the center-right Republican party are among the more popular candidates for the presidency.

France promised tight security at the ballots, including tens of thousands of police and other security personnel on duty, as tensions rose and the threat of terrorism became a focal point prior to the election.

A knife-wielding man was arrested after causing a panic in Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Saturday, two days after a man shot a police officer dead and injured two others in Paris.

On April 19, French police also arrested two men on suspicion of planning a violent attack during the election after it was found they had an apartment hideout containing firearms and explosives. </s> PARIS (AP) — The Latest on France’s presidential runoff between centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen (all times local):

Feminist activists have hung a big banner from a church to protest French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in the depressed northern town where she is casting her ballot.

The activists were quickly detained after the protest Sunday in Henin-Beaumont, the latest among many actions in recent days against Le Pen or against both candidates.

Polls suggest centrist Emmanuel Macron is favored to beat Le Pen in Sunday’s runoff election.

Parisian voter Yves Robert staged his own kind of protest, casting a blank ballot. Many voters like him are both worried about the racist past of Le Pen’s National Front party and worried about the 39-year-old Macron’s inexperience or his pro-business policies.

Retiree Gabrielle Lebbe says she voted because she’s “worried for my grandchildren, I’m worried for the world.”

Voters across France are casting ballots in a presidential election runoff that could decide Europe’s future, choosing between independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen.

With Macron the pollsters’ favorite, voting stations opened across mainland France at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) under the watch of 50,000 security forces guarding against extremist attacks. Polling agency projections and initial official results will be available when the final stations close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).

The unusually tense and unpredictable French presidential campaign ended with a hacking attack and document leak targeting Macron on Friday night. France’s government cybersecurity agency is investigating the hack.

Either candidate would lead France into uncharted territory, since neither comes from the mainstream parties that dominate parliament and have run the country for decades. </s> The Latest on France's presidential runoff between centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen (all times local):

Outgoing French president Francois Hollande has cast his vote in the runoff election to replace him.

Hollande voted Sunday morning in his political fiefdom of Tulle in southwestern France.

Hollande, the most unpopular French leader in the country's modern history, decided not to stand for re-election last year.

The Socialist president has called on voters to reject far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and to back centrist Emmanuel Macron, his former prot?g?.

The Socialist candidate, Benoit Hamon, was eliminated in the election's first round after receiving some 6 percent of the vote.

Police and soldiers are working to secure symbolic Paris venues where France's next president will celebrate victory after Sunday's runoff election between centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Macron has opted for the dignified Esplanade du Louvre, the courtyard of the renowned museum in central Paris. The Louvre is already heavily guarded after an extremist attacker targeted soldiers near the museum during the presidential campaign.

If Le Pen wins, she plans to celebrate at the Chalet du Lac (sha-LAY doo lahk) in the Bois de Vincennes (bu-AH de vin-SEN) , a vast park on Paris' eastern edge. She is notably staying away from the area around the Paris Opera, associated with her father's past xenophobic reign over her National Front party.

Celebration sites have a huge symbolic power, and both candidates are trying to break with the past and the traditional left-right divide. It's no wonder Macron didn't choose the Bastille or Republique squares, two highly popular places for the left, or the Place de la Concorde, where former right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his victory.

Feminist activists have hung a big banner from a church to protest French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in the depressed northern town where she is casting her ballot.

The activists were quickly detained after the protest Sunday in Henin-Beaumont, the latest among many actions in recent days against Le Pen or against both candidates.

Polls suggest centrist Emmanuel Macron is favored to beat Le Pen in Sunday's runoff election.

Parisian voter Yves Robert staged his own kind of protest, casting a blank ballot. Many voters like him are both worried about the racist past of Le Pen's National Front party and worried about the 39-year-old Macron's inexperience or his pro-business policies.

Retiree Gabrielle Lebbe says she voted because she's "worried for my grandchildren, I'm worried for the world."

Voters across France are casting ballots in a presidential election runoff that could decide Europe's future, choosing between independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen.

With Macron the pollsters' favorite, voting stations opened across mainland France at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) under the watch of 50,000 security forces guarding against extremist attacks. Polling agency projections and initial official results will be available when the final stations close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).

The unusually tense and unpredictable French presidential campaign ended with a hacking attack and document leak targeting Macron on Friday night. France's government cybersecurity agency is investigating the hack.

Either candidate would lead France into uncharted territory, since neither comes from the mainstream parties that dominate parliament and have run the country for decades. </s> France's turbulent presidential election season is finally reaching the end game for Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. Here's what you need to know to get you to the final vote on Sunday, and a little beyond.

After Wednesday night's raucous debate, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron have just one day left to campaign hard in a final bid to influence voters.

The final campaign stop for Macron was the town Rodez in southern France while Marine Le Pen caused a stir by announcing a surprise visit to Reims Cathedral in north eastern France.

The local mayor, a member of the Republicans party was not impressed, reminding the anti-EU far right leader that Reims was a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation and a city that was "turned towards Europe".

They continued their appearances on the media with Macron responding to questions on radio station RTL on Friday morning while Le Pen has been invited on channel M6 at 7.45pm.

The day before the result is announced is a chance for a bit of a break from the election circus for candidates and the press as both campaigning and publishing polls aren't allowed by French law. The official campaign ends at midnight on Friday and any French media caught publishing polls after that would be slapped with a €75,000 fine.

"Election silence" for a limited period of time before the vote is fairly common and used in countries such as Australia, Ireland, Spain and Italy, often as a "cooling off day" for reflection to create a voting environment that's a little less pressurized.

On the big day French people will head to the polls from 8am to 7pm, or until 8pm in the big cities. One petition is going around to get people to vote after 5pm on Sunday to send Macron a message of their reluctance to vote for him.

Where will the candidates be on Sunday?

The candidates themselves get to vote too. Macron will vote in the northern seaside town of Touquet where he and his wife Brigitte have long been registered. Le Pen will again vote in Hénin-Beaumont, the northern National Front-run town where she held her election night in the first round.

Macron has yet to announce where he will hold his election night event but it will be in Paris.

Le Pen's team said her event will be in the capital this time, to the relief of the scores of international journalists who had to figure out how to reach Hénin-Beaumont in the first round.

She will spend the evening at the Bois de Vincennes to the east of the city for the result, and a celebration afterwards (whether she wins or loses).

Both events will be packed with supporters, staff and hundreds of French and international media, including The Local France.

Join us from 3pm on Sunday for our live coverage.

The crucial result will be announced once again at 8pm, when the image of the next president of France will be shown on TV screens, prompting either wild celebrations or groans of despair among the public.

The photo below shows the moment François Hollande's face was broadcast when he won in 2012.

The result is based on the votes counted in 250 designated polling stations around the country that are considered to be have an accurate cross section of French voters. Hence the initial percentages given at 8pm can change slightly as the rest of the votes are counted.

However these days with social media and foreign media who don't stick to the strict rules it's hard to keep the results under wraps until 8pm.

Station Radio Londres is notorious for side-stepping the election silence rule and releasing polls and estimations before 8pm. The French public are told to be wary of the unofficial results and rumours spreading around on the election weekend.

The "official" final figures won't be announced until May 11th.

In 2012 thousands thronged into Place de la Bastille to celebrate François Hollande becoming the first Socialist president to be elected since 1988.

But it's unsure whether there will be such a spontaneous public outpouring of joy and emotion in Paris on Sunday, regardless of the result.

Le Pen plans to celebrate at the Bois de Vincennes to the east of Paris, whether she wins or not, while Macron is set to celebrate in the iconic Esplanade du Louvre where the pyramids are, but only if he becomes president.

Whoever wins on May 7th will be inaugurated between the 11th and the 14th May, the date when Francois Hollande's mandate runs out.

There will be a formal "passing over of powers" as well as the traditional trip to the City Hall in Paris.

But election season isn't quite over as the regional "legislative" elections begin their first round on June 11th, and second round on June 18th.

And then it's off to work for the next five years before we do it all again. </s> PARIS (CNN) — France began voting for a new president Sunday, following a volatile campaign period that was overshadowed in its final days by a terror attack on police.

Polls opened in the morning for France’s 47 million registered voters under tightened security, with the country still jittery just two days after the attack on a police bus in the heart of Paris, which left one officer dead.

The country is sharply divided — with the latest polls suggest the results are too close to call.

With 11 names on the ballot, no one candidate is expected to win an outright majority, and only four leading contenders are seen as having a realistic prospect of making it through to the second-round vote in May.

The frontrunners are far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, scandal-hit conservative François Fillon, centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron and far-left wildcard Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The top two in Sunday’s vote will face off on May 7 in a second — and final — round of voting.

Benoit Hamon is the mainstream left-wing Socialist Party nominee but polls suggest he has struggled to gain traction.

That means France could end up with a choice between candidates from the far-left and far-right, or a far-right stalwart facing off against a political novice.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Sunday across the country, and by midday, around 30% of voters had cast their ballots. Initial results expected in the evening. Most polls will close at 7 p.m. — while polls in some urban areas will remain open until 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET).

The election is being closely watched as a bellwether of populist sentiment in Europe. Populists have shaken up the political landscape across the continent, but Austria, the Netherlands and Italy have in recent elections resisted voting populist candidates into power.

But what is clear is that the country is divided and that there is a significant appetite for change.

In Le Pen’s heartland in Hénin-Beaumont, where she cast her vote Sunday, a shouting match erupted between two voters, a man supporting Mélenchon and a woman backing Le Pen.

In Paris, 59-year-old electrician Akermann Frederic told CNN it was time for change.

“We have been hit by attacks and a lot has happened these past two years and now we’ve had enough. A change needs to happen,” he said.

Laure Granval, a 26-year-old fashion designer, said she felt that France had taken a wrong turn.

“People are being manipulated and the political discourse has become so reactionary. We need to remember that we are all human and we shouldn’t fight each other. I’m voting for someone who I think represents my views. We can’t give into divisiveness,” she said.

Security was already high on the candidates’ political agenda before the attack in Paris on Thursday.

Several of the main candidates on Friday canceled events for the final day of campaigning, instead making televised statements to talk tough on security and vow a crackdown on ISIS, which claimed Thursday’s attack.

President Francois Hollande, who cast his vote in Tulle in southwestern France, acknowledged that these were troubled times for France.

“We are in a period, but this period is neither recent nor over, so we have to mobilize a lot of resources, in particular for the two days of vote for the presidential election and then the legislatives. And for the French I think it is the best message they can send, it’s to show that democracy is stronger than anything,” he said.

Hollande made the unusual decision not to run for a second term as his approval ratings remained in the doldrums over the years.

France suffered the worst terror attack on its soil under Hollande’s watch, with 130 people killed in the Paris attacks in November 2015.

Aside from security, immigration and the economy are top issues for voters. Many think current immigration policies have exacerbated France’s unemployment problems and contributed to the deadly terror attacks of the past couple of years.

Le Pen: The far-right candidate told supporters in the run-up to the vote that if elected, she would put a moratorium even on legal immigration to the country, as well as closing “Islamist” mosques and expelling radicals. She has also vowed that if she wins, France will exit the European Union, as well as the border-free Schengen area.

Macron: This 39-year-old former economy minister hopes to take the centrist path to the Elysee Palace, gathering support from left and right with promises to boost the economy and improve security. His party, “En Marche!” which was only created in September, now has more than 200,000 members and his meetings have attracted vast crowds.

But he has has never held elected office and his lack of experience, lack of an established party and his youth could count against him.

Fillon: The mainstream Republican candidate, was initially a frontrunner but his campaign stumbled thanks to a scandal over claims he paid his wife and children for work they did not do. He denies any wrongdoing. He has promised reforms to the French state and cuts to public spending, while boosting security.

Mélenchon: The far-left candidate has seen his popularity surge in recent weeks, following his impressive performances in the presidential television debates. But the 65-year-old’s policies — which include withdrawing from NATO and the International Monetary Fund, and renegotiating EU rules — are unlikely to appeal to all voters. </s> PARIS — French voters decided Sunday whether to back pro-business independent Emmanuel Macron or far-right populist Marine Le Pen as their next president, casting ballots in an unusually tense and important presidential election that also could decide Europe’s future.

With Macron the pollsters’ favourite, voting stations opened across mainland France at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) under the watch of 50,000 security forces guarding against extremist attacks. A security scare caused by a suspicious bag prompted the brief evacuation of the Louvre museum courtyard where Macron plans to celebrate election night.

France’s Interior Ministry said voter turnout at midday was running slightly lower than during the last presidential runoff in 2012. The ministry said 28% of eligible voters had cast ballots, compared with a half-day tally of 31% five years ago.

Commentators think a low turnout would benefit Le Pen, whose supporters are seen as more committed and therefore more likely to show up to vote.

Macron voted in the seaside resort of Le Touquet in northern France alongside his wife, Brigitte Macron. Le Pen cast her ballot just a hundred kilometres away in Henin-Beaumont, a small town controlled by her National Front party.

Macron, 39, a former Socialist economy minister and one-time banker who ran as an independent, was all smiles and petted a black dog as he stepped out of his vacation home. For security reasons, he was driven to his polling station nearby.

Le Pen, 48, was able to vote without any incident after feminist activists were briefly detained a couple of hours earlier Sunday for hanging a big anti-Le Pen banner from a church in the northern town.

Meanwhile, police and soldiers worked to secure the symbolic Paris venues where the next president will celebrate victory.

The grand internal courtyard of the renowned palace-turned-museum Macron picked for his celebration party reopened after several hundred journalists preparing for the election event had to leave because of the security alert over the suspicious bag.

The museum itself was not evacuated, and tourists continued entering and leaving the site. The Louvre already was being heavily guarded after an extremist attacker targeted soldiers near the museum during the presidential campaign. Paris police said the evacuation was a “precautionary measure.”

If Le Pen wins, she plans to celebrate at the Chalet du Lac in the Bois de Vincennes, a vast park on Paris’ eastern edge.

The most closely watched and unpredictable French presidential campaign in recent memory ended with a hacking attack and document leak targeting Macron on Friday night. France’s government cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, is investigating the hack, which Macron’s team says was aimed at destabilizing the vote.

France’s election campaign commission said Saturday that “a significant amount of data” — and some fake information — was leaked on social networks following the hacking attack on Macron. The leaked documents appeared largely mundane, and the perpetrators remain unknown.

The fate of the European Union may hang in the balance as France’s 47 million voters decide whether to risk handing the presidency to Le Pen, who dreams of quitting the bloc and its common currency, or to play it safer with Macron, an unabashed pro-European who wants to strengthen the EU.

Global financial markets and France’s neighbours are watching carefully. A “Frexit” would be far more devastating than Britain’s departure, since France is the second-biggest economy to use the euro. The country also is a central pillar of the EU and its mission of keeping post-war peace via trade and open borders.

The vote will help gauge the strength of global populism after the victories last year of a referendum to take Britain out of the EU and Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign. In France, it is a test of whether voters are ready to overlook the racist and anti-Semitic past of Le Pen’s National Front party.

Le Pen has broadened the party’s appeal by tapping into — and fueling — anger at globalization and fears associated with immigration and Islamic extremism. Macron has argued that France must rethink its labour laws to better compete globally and appealed for unity and tolerance that Le Pen called naive.

Either candidate would lead France into uncharted territory, since neither comes from the mainstream parties that dominate parliament and have run the country for decades. The winner will have to try to build a parliamentary majority in elections next month to make major changes.———

John Leicester in Paris, Alex Turnbull in Henin-Beaumont and Chris den Hond in Le Touquet contributed. </s> Security concerns took centre stage on Friday in the last days of France’s tight presidential race as candidates defended their stance on the fight against terror in the wake of a shooting in Paris which killed one policeman.

Voters will cast ballots in the first round on Sunday of what has turned into the most unpredictable French election in memory as the gap between four frontrunners narrows. The two candidates who get the most votes will then face off in a run-off election on May 7.

A shooting on Thursday night on the Champs-Elysees shopping boulevard in central Paris, in which one policeman was killed and two others were wounded, could bring campaigning to a sombre and abrupt end, however.

The shooting unfolded on the world-famous Paris site as presidential contenders were mid-way through back-to-back television appearances to sell their campaign programmes. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group’s Amaq news agency.

Some of the candidates later clashed over whether official campaigning, which has just one more day to run, should be brought to a full stop in light of the incident.

“In this current context, there are no grounds to continue campaigning. We must first show our solidarity with the police,” conservative candidate Francois Fillon told the France 2 show, after saying he would cancel a trip to the Alps on Friday.

Fillon, who has sought to reinforce his credentials as a hard-liner on security, added that fighting “Islamist totalitarianism” must be the priority for the next president.

Far-left politician Jean-Luc Melenchon said the candidates should not cave in to violence.

“As we wait for more definite information, I think we need to attend to our duties as citizens: no panic, we shouldn’t interrupt our democratic process,” Melenchon said.

Pollsters see centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen taking the top two places on Sunday and so going head-to-head in the run-off. That would break the normal rotation of power in France between the centre-left and centre-right.

Macron, a former banker who quit as economy minister last August to set up his independent “En Marche!” (“Onwards!”) movement, would beat Le Pen or any other candidate in the run-off, the latest polls show.

But these are so close that gaps between candidates in the first round fall within the margin of error.

Melenchon, propelled from wildcard to genuine contender thanks to feisty television performances and smart social media campaign, is virtually neck-and-neck with Fillon and only a few percentage points behind the frontrunners.

Security fears had already re-emerged in the run-up to a first ballot after an attack thought to have been targeted at some of the candidates was foiled earlier in the week. France has been hit by a series of deadly attacks since 2015.

Le Pen, who has stressed her plans to curb immigration in the last week as she tries to rally support, on Thursday night also seized on the latest incident.

“I don’t want us to get used to Islamist terrorism,” she told France 2. “We have to stop being naive. We can’t leave our children a country that is not able to defend them.”

Earlier in the evening, Macron also weighed in on the shooting, saying the president’s No.1 job was to protect people.

The election will decide the direction of France’s 2.2 trillion euro economy, which vies with Britain for the rank of fifth largest in the world. With eurospectics Le Pen and Melenchon in the race, the outcome could have a bearing on France’s place in Europe.

A Harris Interactive poll on Thursday showed Macron and Le Pen still in front, with the gap a bit wider than before. The centrist inched ahead to 24.5 percent while Le Pen was a bit weaker at 21 percent.

Fillon – an early favourite before his campaign hit the rocks following nepotism allegations that he has denied – scored 20 percent, meaning he was now gaining on Le Pen. Melenchon was stable on 19 percent.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now
Voters in France return to the polls for a run-off, to elect either Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen as the new President of France.