PARIS/LONDON: Turnout for the French presidential run-off stood at 63.2 percent at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Sunday, down by more than two percentage points from the same time in the second round of the 2017 presidential race, the interior ministry said.
Participation was also two percentage points below what it had been at 5:00 pm in the first round of voting on April 10, when President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen advanced to the run-off.
On the basis of the official figures, polling organisations estimated that the abstention rate was on course for 28 percent which, if confirmed, would be the highest in any presidential election second-round run-off since 1969.
Analysts have cautioned that low turnout could swing the final result in either direction, even though opinion polls have given Macron a comfortable lead against Le Pen over the past two weeks.
The centrist Macron is asking voters to trust him for a second five-year term despite a presidency that was troubled by protests, the pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. A Macron victory in this vote would make him the first French president in 20 years to win a second term.
The result Sunday in France, a nuclear-armed nation with one of the world’s biggest economies, could also impact the war in Ukraine, as France has played a key role in diplomatic efforts and firmly backed sanctions against Russia for its invasion of its neighbor.
All recent opinion polls converge toward a win for the 44-year-old pro-European Macron — yet the margin over his 53-year-old far-right rival varies broadly. Polls also forecast a possibly record-high number of people who will either cast a blank vote or not vote at all.
Live updates below. (All times BST)
16:00 – The interior ministry has released the latest voter turnout figures at 5 p.m. local time, and we’re down by a couple of percent from the 2017 election at this point.
The figures confirmed a trend forecast by experts who said this year’s final vote between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen would see the highest abstention level in over 50 years.
15:15 – The first official exit polls should start coming in by 8 p.m. Paris time, once the final stations are closed. But until then, the French media is banned from quoting candidates or discussing polls, to ensure no voter influence occurs.
14:45 – There are almost 49 million registered voters in France, but analysts warn that turnout today could well be lower than in fiurs warned that turnout could be lower than in the first round, with one in four people abstaining from voting.
14:15 – The first figures from Overseas indicate a massive victory for Le Pen in Guadeloupe (69.6% against 30.4% for Macron), in Martinique (60.9% against 39.1 %) and in Guyana (60.7% against 39.3%).
Challenger Marine Le Pen casting her ballot on Sunday. (Twitter/@MLP_officiel)
14:00 – The polling stations opened across France at 8 a.m. local time and will close at 7 p.m., but some city-center stations will be allowed to remain open for another hour.
Turnout by midday local time was just over 26%, which was lower than at the same point in 2017’s election.
France’s President and LREM party presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron waves at wellwishers as he leaves after voting for the second round. (AFP)
* With Reuters and AP
