In France, voting for presidential election has begun at 8 am local time amid high security following a deadly attack on Paris police three days ago. About 50,000 police and 7,000 soldiers are being deployed across the country to secure polling.
Eleven candidates are vying to be the country’s next president, with leading candidates spanning the political spectrum from far-left to far-right. The two with the most votes will go to a run-off round in a fortnight’s time.
Four candidates are currently seen as being within reach of the presidency: the conservative François Fillon, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, liberal centrist Emmanuel Macron and the far-left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Meanwhile, French nationals from Puducherry and regions coming under the jurisdiction of that nation’s consulate, cast their votes in the first round of French Presidential elections. Polling which began at 8 AM would go on till 7 PM.
