France on Sunday will vote to elect it new president. The polling will take place in two phases, first on April 23 and next on May 7. Voters have 11 candidates to choose from, with four being seen as serious contenders.
The French government has deployed around 50,000 police personnel and 7,000 soldiers for the elections. On Thursday, a French police officer was killed in an attack carried out by the Islamic State group on the Champs-Elysees in Central Paris. The incident had put the topic of national security back in focus.
French overseas territories – French Polynesia, French Guiana, Martinique, among others – voted a day early on Saturday so that their votes are not influenced by the mainland results. Their results will be sealed until Sunday evening, after mainland France has finished voting.
Opinion polls showed that far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen, and independent centrist and the former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron were leading, reported AP. Conservative former Prime Minister Francois Fillion, who has been embroiled in a controversy for allegedly embezzling funds, and far-left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon were not far behind either.
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