UpdateIn France, a quarter of those eligible to vote already went to the polls this afternoon. This is what the Ministry of the Interior reported regarding the presidential elections.
Twelve candidates will compete with each other, and the main candidates to win are incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen.
Two of the twelve advanced to the class round on April 24. Macron has gotten weaker and Le Pen better in recent opinion polls. The French were welcomed into the voting booth from 8:00 in the morning. Macron and Le Pen voted.
Hardly any campaign
Macron was confident in the lead up to the day and didn’t campaign. But this looks set to make the second round a very risky election day for the incumbent.
The loss of purchasing power due to high inflation appears to be the main concern of French voters and the majority of French see a very bleak future, according to opinion polls. Le Pen presents himself with an emphasis on social and economic “people’s problems” as the polar opposite of the globalist Macron. For example, you want to increase salaries for the lowest-income groups by 10 percent and reduce taxes on gasoline and electricity significantly.
The big question in two weeks’ time is what will the French voters who did not vote for Macron or Le Pen do on Sunday.
Polls
According to polls, the far left and the far right together account for a quarter of the vote: leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon with 16.5 percent and far-right Eric Zemmour with 8.5 percent. Center-right Republicans led by Valerie Pecres appear to have 8.5 percent of the electorate behind them and ecologist Yannick Gadot could count on 5.5 percent in the first round.
In the last French presidential election, five years ago, Macron and Le Pen also took the lead in the first round. Five years ago, Macron received 66 percent of the vote in the second round and Le Pen 34 percent.
On Sunday afternoon, the Ministry of Interior reported that the turnout was 25.48 percent. It was almost the same five years ago. Polling stations close at different times. Mostly at 7pm and in some cities an hour later. The first surveys are expected at checkout at 8pm.
Watch a video of the exciting presidential election in France here:
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