May 7 - French Presidential Election Day and the Fear of a Repeat of the US Election

Just before G-hour (the start of the 44-hour silence before the second round of the French presidential election), 9 gigabytes of data containing emails related to candidate Emmanuel Macron's campaign were leaked online.

Photo of two French presidential candidates Marine Le Pen (left) and Emmanuel Macron (right) at the polling station of the French Consulate General in New York City (USA) on May 6 - Photo: Reuters

They were posted on a public data sharing website on May 5 (local time), just hours before the candidates' official campaign ended. Mr. Macron's campaign management team confirmed that the campaign had "become the victim of a massive hacking attack, stealing emails, documents and financial information" just before "curfew".

Mr Macron, a former French economy minister, is the leading candidate for the presidency, far ahead of his rival Marine Le Pen in pre-election polls. He is predicted to win tomorrow's election with 62% of the vote, while Ms Le Pen only has 38% (according to BFM TV and L'Express).

However, the poll was released before hackers leaked Macron’s campaign documents online, making the final outcome of tomorrow’s election all the more unpredictable and interesting to watch.

While French media have refrained from reporting or commenting on the two candidates (banned under the 44-hour silence rule), the French presidential election commission has tried to reassure and minimize the impact of the hack on people's decisions.

"On the last night before this most important moment for the country and its institutions, the committee calls on all those present on the Internet and social networks, not only the media, but all French citizens, to show their responsibility;

"Do not share or disseminate leaked documents. Do not let the sincerity of each vote be distorted," the French presidential election commission called on May 6.

However, according to Reuters, the committee's efforts may not be as desirable in an era when people have more and more access to online news sources, cross-border information flows and an increasingly anonymous online world.

French media are reporting on the hacking attack in different ways. While the online newspaper Liberation has gone all out, television stations have chosen to stay silent, avoiding the issue. Le Monde has bluntly stated on its website that it will not publish any of the leaked documents before the election, citing the "large volume of leaked documents that requires time to evaluate accurately."

Meanwhile, on Twitter, the hashtag #Macronleaks is trending. Florian Philippot, vice-president of Le Pen's far-right National Front party, wrote: "Can the Macron leaks teach us anything that investigative journalism has deliberately kept quiet?"

Despite the leak, many voters in some French overseas territories and the Americas went to the polls early on May 6, a day before the official election in France./.

According to TTO