On Sunday, voters in France cast their ballots in the first round of a presidential election in which far-right challenger Marine Le Pen poses an unexpected danger to President Emmanuel Macron’s re-election aspirations.
The first exit polls will be published at 1800 GMT, after polling stations open at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT). In France, such polls are usually quite reliable.
Until recently, opinion polls predicted an easy victory for pro-European Union, centrist Macron, who was aided by his active diplomacy over Ukraine, a robust economic recovery, and the divided opposition’s weakness.
On Sunday, several voters agreed with such points. In Paris, 34-year-old Thomas Bostock, who recently became a French citizen, said his vote was aimed to ‘congratulate’ Macron on his accomplishments in the face of a tense geopolitical situation.
But, along with a sharp spike in inflation, Macron’s late entry into the campaign, with only one huge rally that even his fans found unimpressive, and his concentration on an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age, have hurt his popularity.
In contrast, Le Pen’s anti-immigration, eurosceptic far-right has benefited from a months-long focus on cost-of-living issues, as well as a significant decline in support for her far-right competitor, Eric Zemmour.
‘We’ve long been recognised for our views on immigration, but what we’re putting out now is the country’s social problems,’ said Steeve Briois, a mayor for Le Pen’s National Rally party in Henin-Beaumont, in northern France.
Before the campaign blackout, which began at midnight on Friday, opinion surveys showed Macron leading the first round and winning a runoff versus Le Pen on April 24. However, those same polls predicted a close race as Le Pen closed the lead, with some predicting a victory inside the margin of error.
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