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On Sunday, French citizens headed to the polls to vote in the first round of the country’s presidential election. Recent opinion polls have indicated that it could be a tight race between four of the candidates during the first round: Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, centrist Emmanuel Macron, conservative candidate Francois Fillon and far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon.
If one of the candidates secures more than 50 percent of the votes in Sunday’s first round, theoretically they can go on to win the election, however, this outcome has been deemed unlikely.
If no candidate secures over 50 percent of the total vote, citizens will then go on to decide between the two favorites, in the election’s second round set to take place on 7 May.
First exit polls for the first round are expected at around 7.00 p.m. London time (2.00 p.m. ET).
Head to the CNBC International website for more coverage on the 2017 French presidential election.
