The majority of French people support Mr. Macron before the election.

Polls show French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is ahead of the popular vote, before polls open 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 proves that predictions from last month that Mr Macron had the support of many French people were correct. Even so, Mr Macron said he did not expect any honeymoon if he became the youngest president in French history.

About 67,000 polling stations will open at 8 a.m. local time today, equivalent to 1 p.m. 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 participated because they wanted 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 investigation group.

As the presidential vote concludes, attention will turn to whether the winner can gain a majority in the National Assembly. 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 years old, 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 after 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