At 20.00 (French time – 21.00 Greek time) the polls of the second round of the French elections close, when the initial predictions of the result will be announced.
The 44-year-old Macronwho prevailed in Le Pen with an impressive 66% in the last presidential election five years ago, has warned of “civil war” if Le Pen is elected, whose policies include banning the Muslim headscarf in public and calling on Democrats across the political spectrum. to support him.
The participation
The turnout in the second round of the French presidential elections today amounted to 63.23% at 17.00 in the afternoon (18.00 Greek time) according to data announced by the Ministry of Interior.
In the previous elections, in 2017, at the same time the turnout was 65.30%. The data confirm the trend predicted by the polls, that is, this year the turnout of voters will be lower.
Analysts say a low turnout adds to the uncertainty surrounding final result.
Emanuel Macron led in the first round of elections on April 10 with 27.8%. The current pro-European president aims to become the first president to be re-elected since Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Respectively, his far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen, garnered 23.1% of the vote in the first round and hopes to become the first woman in France to take over the presidency, as it is the third time she has run.
About 48.7 million are registered to vote, although pollsters have warned that turnout could be lower than in the first round, when one in four abstained.
However, because the French traditionally do not go to the polls in the morning, estimates for participation will be safe in the afternoon. The 45-year-old leader of “En Marche!” Wants to win the bet of the undecided without this being an easy affair. He has five years behind him, from which the small and middle class has many complaints.
Macron managed to turn the game around in the second round, as he became more involved with the daily life of the citizens. The purchasing power of the French has fallen sharply and this has angered society. That’s why no one in Paris is talking about repeating the “electoral walk” he did in the second round in 2017 with 66.1%.
