Decision day for France in cliffhanger election

April 23, 2017 10:16

French voters head to the polls on Sunday in the first step of a nail-biting two-round process to elect France's next president.

The election, which will choose a leader with some of the greatest executive powers among western democracies, has turned into a four-way cliffhanger after months of campaigning marked by embezzlement scandals, terror attacks, the collapse of old mainstream parties and the rise of candidates from the extreme right and left.

On Sunday evening, when polling stations close, France will discover the two front-runners who will face each other in a runoff on May 7. The names will provide an indication as to whether the eurozone's second-largest economy will succumb to the populist tide shaking the postwar liberal order in Europe.

On Friday, the last day of campaigning, polls showed that Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister running with a new centrist party, and Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front party leader, would qualify for the second round, with about 24 per cent and 22 per cent of the votes respectively.

Also please read: France has the Blues

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