French election turnout 28.23 percent at midday

Sunday's figure was slightly down on the midday participation rate of 28.54 recorded during the first round of the election on April 23.

French presidential election candidate for the far-right Front National (FN) party, Marine Le Pen (L) and French presidential election candidate for the En Marche ! movement, Emmanuel Macron pose prior to the start of a live brodcast face-to-face televise

PARIS: Turnout in France's presidential election stood at 28.23 percent at midday on Sunday, the interior ministry said, down from 30.66 percent at the same point in the 2012 presidential ballot.

Sunday's figure was slightly down on the midday participation rate of 28.54 recorded during the first round of the election on April 23.

Overall turnout for French presidential elections is generally high, at around 80 percent.

Sunday's election pitting centrist Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen of the far right falls in the middle of a three-day weekend in France.

It is the first in the six decades of the Fifth Republic in which neither the traditional left nor right has a candidate.

A recent voter survey found that seven in 10 voters are unhappy with the choice between Macron and Le Pen. 

The interior ministry is to issue the next turnout figures at 1500 GMT, while first estimated results are expected shortly after 1800 GMT.

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