Majority of French people support Mr. Macron before election

Polls show French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is ahead of the polls this afternoon.

If he wins, Mr. Macron will be the youngest French president in history. Photo: Skynews

Mr. Macron leads his opponent, Ms. Le Pen, by 23-26 percentage points, according to polls yesterday, Reuters reported.

The result confirms predictions from last month that Mr Macron would be popular among the French public. Despite this, Mr Macron said he did not expect a honeymoon if he became France’s youngest president.

About 67,000 polling stations will open at 8am local time today, equivalent to 1pm Hanoi time.

Observers estimate that the abstention rate is expected to be high, with nearly 60% of those planning to vote for Mr. Macron saying they are participating because they want to prevent Ms. Le Pen from becoming president of the EU's second largest economy, rather than fully supporting him.

"For Mr. Macron, victory is not expected to be everything, a large number of voters will not support him wholeheartedly," said the Odoxa investigative group.

As the presidential vote comes to a close, attention will turn to whether the winner can gain a majority in parliament. The first polls this week show Mr Macron also enjoying a strong showing. But much will depend on how the two candidates fare today.

If he wins, Mr. Macron, 39, a former economy minister, will hold the position of French president for the next 5 years. He has expressed his desire to abolish regulations that hinder economic development and increase integration with the European Union (EU).

Pollsters will release initial results at 8 p.m. local time, when polling stations close.

More than 50,000 police officers were deployed on election day. Security is a major concern following a series of attacks in Paris, Nice and elsewhere in France. More than 230 people are estimated to have died over the past two years.

According to VNE