PARIS, April 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - France voted on Sunday in the first round 
of a presidential election projected to produce a run-off rematch between 
incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen that will be far 
tighter than their duel five years ago. 

Polls opened in mainland France at 0600 GMT after an unusual campaign 
overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine that analysts warned could lead 
to unpredictable outcomes with turnout a major factor.

French overseas territories already voted Saturday to take account of the 
time difference, starting with the tiny island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon 
off the coast of Canada and then territories in the Caribbean followed by 
French Pacific islands.

"It's important to vote, that's when you choose between the good and the bad. 
After all, the president will run your life," said Annette Tehariki, a 57-
year-old voting in French Polynesia.

Polls predict that Macron will lead Le Pen by a handful of percentage points 
in round one, with the top two going through to a second round vote on April 
24. 

Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is snapping at their heels in third 
place and still fancies his chances of reaching the second round at the 
expense of Le Pen or even -- in what would be an extraordinary upset -- 
President Macron himself. 

Although her opponents accuse her of being an extremist bent on dividing 
society, Le Pen has with some success during the campaign sought to show a 
more moderate image and concern with voters' daily worries such as rising 
prices. 

Macron by contrast has campaigned relatively little, by his own admission 
entering the election campaign later than he would have wished due to the war 
in Ukraine. 

French television channels will broadcast projections of the final results, 
which are generally highly accurate, as soon as polls close at 1800 GMT 
Sunday.

- 'Uncertainty' -

If Macron and Le Pen as forecast reach the second round, analysts predict 
that their clash will be far tighter than in 2017 when the current president 
thrashed his rival with 66 percent of the vote.

"There is an uncertainty," said French political scientist Pascal Perrineau, 
pointing to unprecedentedly high numbers of voters who were still undecided 
or who changed their minds during the campaign as well as absentee voters.

Analysts fear that the 2002 record of the number of French voters boycotting 
a first round of 28.4 percent risks being beaten, with the 2017 absentee rate 
of 22.2 percent almost sure to be exceeded. 

Some 48.7 million voters are registered across France to vote in this 
election. 

The stakes of the election are high for Macron, who came to power aged 39 as 
France's youngest president with a pledge to shake up the country. 

He would be the first French president since Jacques Chirac in 2002 to win a 
second term and thus cement a place in the country's history. 

If he wins, he would have a five-year mandate to impose his vision of reform 
which would include a crack at raising the pension age in defiance of union 
anger. 

He would also seek to consolidate his position as the undisputed number one 
in Europe after the departure of German chancellor Angela Merkel. 

A Le Pen victory would however be seen as a triumph for right-wing populism 
and send shockwaves across Europe and markets. 

For his European supporters, Macron is a centrist bulwark against populism, 
especially after election victories last weekend by the right-wingers 
Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic, who both 
have cordial ties with Putin.

- Republican front? -

The candidates of France's traditional parties, the right-wing Republicans 
and the Socialists on the left, are facing a debacle on election night, 
continuing a shake-up of French politics that began when Macron took power.

Greens candidate Yannick Jadot, the Republicans' Valerie Pecresse and the 
flagging Socialist nominee Anne Hidalgo appear certain to be ejected in the 
first round. 

Far-right former TV pundit Eric Zemmour made a stunning entry into the 
campaign last year but has since lost ground, and analysts say he has 
actually aided Le Pen by making her appear more moderate. 

Much attention is already turning to the second round and the question of who 
will win the backing of the defeated first-round hopefuls. 

Analysts question whether Macron would enjoy the same support from a broad 
anti-far right "Republican front" coalition that helped him win in 2017, and 
that had already allowed Jacques Chirac to demolish Marine Le Pen's father 
Jean-Marie in 2002. 

"The Republican front hasn't been what it used to be for a while," the 
director of the Jean-Jaures Foundation, Gilles Finchelstein, told AFP.