France election 2022: All presidential candidates cast votes

The first round of the presidential elections in France begins today. Favorites are Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.

5:20 p.m .: In less than three hours there will be the first projections for the presidential election in France. It already seems certain that there will be a runoff election in two weeks – the election campaign would be a bit more violent than before. The situation is not new for the two favorites, President Emmanuel Macron and right-wing populist Marine Le Pen: they faced each other in the 2017 runoff. It is eagerly awaited which voting recommendations the ten eliminated candidates will make after the first ballot. Traditionally, there is still a television duel, probably on Wednesday, April 20th.

4:15 p.m.: The publication of projections before 8 p.m. is prohibited by law in France. Only then do the last polling stations close. “No result, partial or definitive, may be communicated to the public before the closing of the last polling station, through the press or through any medium of public communication by electronic means,” reads the official website vie-publique.fr. But those interested can find out from foreign media about the first forecasts for the France election *, for example from Belgium or Switzerland.

France election 2022: Emmanuel Macron votes – President welcomed by fans

3:05 p.m .: Because of the time difference, some French overseas territories, such as the Caribbean, voted on Saturday. The last polling stations on the mainland close at 8 p.m. today. Then the first extrapolations are expected.

1:11 p.m .: France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron cast his vote in the first round of the French presidential election. The 44-year-old voted on Sunday afternoon (04/10/2022) together with his wife Brigitte in the northern French seaside resort of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. Numerous supporters welcomed Macron at the polling station. The three polling booths had curtains in the colors of the French flag, blue, white and red. Macron chose the middle booth, the President’s wife went into the left booth. With Macron, all candidates have now cast their votes.

Because of the strict corona lockdown in Shanghai, the French living there are not allowed to vote today*. The French embassy was unable to obtain an exception rule for the first round of the French elections.

Presidential election in France 2022: Marine Le Pen casts her vote

12:44 p.m .: The right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen cast her vote in the first round of the French presidential election. The 53-year-old voted on Sunday (April 10, 2022) in Hénin-Beaumont near Lille in northeastern France. The politician from the Rassemblement National party, which has long been seen as far-right, is considered the main competitor of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking re-election. Polls put her in second place.

Other presidential candidates have already submitted their ballots (see update from 11:53 a.m.). The conservative Valérie Pécresse, who with about nine percent is calculated with little chance of entering the runoff, voted near Paris.

France election: A quarter of the registered French voted

11:53 a.m .: The candidates for the presidential election in France are gradually casting their votes. The first was the socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo in Paris around 9 a.m. Eric Zemmour, candidate of Reconquete, was also at the ballot box in Paris. The communist Fabien Roussel voted in the north. Jean-Luc Mélenchon from La France insoumise cast his vote in Marseille.

By 12 p.m., 25.48 percent of registered voters had cast their votes. The turnout was initially lower than at the same time in the first ballot in 2017, when it was 28.54 percent, said the Interior Ministry in Paris. In 2007, 30.88 percent of voters had voted by noon. With the historically low turnout in 2002, the value at noon was only 21.39 percent.

France election today: hardly any corona protection measures

10.15 a.m .: There are hardly any measures to protect against Corona* for the France election today: Neither a vaccination certificate nor a negative test certificate have to be shown. There is not even a mask requirement in the polling stations, as lemonde.fr reports. People who are in isolation because of a corona infection are allowed to interrupt this to vote – they are strongly recommended to wear a mask.

8.48 a.m .: Thousands of French people demonstrated “for the future” in France the day before the presidential election. 325 organizations from the fields of environmental protection, feminism, anti-racism and poverty reduction had called for the rally on Saturday (April 9th, 2022), as lemonde.fr reports. “These problems have the same root,” said Lorette Philippot, spokeswoman for “Amis de la Terre” (English: “Friends of the Earth”).

France election 2022 today: polling stations are open

8 a.m.: In France, the polling stations for the first round of the presidential election have been open since 8 a.m. on Sunday. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron* want to vote in Le Touquet near Calais in the morning. As usual, his toughest competitor, Marine Le Pen, will vote in Hénin-Beaumont in northern France.

According to the last polls before the French elections, Macron had between 25 and 28 percent of the votes, Le Pen between 22 and 24 percent. Left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon came in third with 16 to 18 percent of the vote. Le Pen and Mélenchon had recently increased continuously. The first projections for the election result will be announced at 8 p.m.

Presidential election in France today: It could be close between Macron and Le Pen

6:17 a.m .: Around 49 million French people are called on this Sunday (04/10/2022) to elect the next head of state. According to the latest polls, President Emmanuel Macron and right-wing populist Marine Le Pen are the favorites in the first ballot. Pollsters expect that the result of a runoff between the two will be tighter than in 2017. The polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and in large cities until 8 p.m.