PARIS: 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.
AFP looks at all the hopefuls, from the frontrunner Macron to an eccentric former shepherd from the Pyrenees mountains.
FAR RIGHT
- Marine Le Pen -
The veteran far-right leader is making her third attempt for the presidency after reaching the second round in 2017, with her political future widely seen as on the line in this year's polls.
Rather than holding flashy rallies, the 53-year-old has opted for low-key grassroots campaigning while seeking to cast herself as more mainstream, moderate and competent than her far-right rivals -- and even her former self.
- Eric Zemmour -
The ex-journalist, television pundit and best-selling author has a major national following thanks to his anti-Islam and anti-immigration views, which has enabled him to draw support away from Le Pen and the mainstream right.
As a political newcomer, the 63-year-old enjoyed a surge in the polls last October, but gaffes and his uncompromising style have seen him slip significantly behind Le Pen in the polls.
- Nicolas Dupont-Aignan
The eurosceptic head of the "Rise Up France" party is a pugnacious mayor of a Paris suburb who bubbles up in French public life every five years at presidential election time.
He has promised to crack down on migration and give "a kick in the butt to the lazy, slackers and free riders", but has been largely drowned out by Le Pen and Zemmour.
RIGHT
- Valerie Pecresse -
The head of the Greater Paris region surprised many by winning the primary for the conservative Republicans party, becoming its first female candidate in a presidential election.
The former budget minister has accused Macron of overspending and being soft on crime, but her campaign has struggled to gain traction and a disastrous first major rally in February dented her credibility.
CENTRE
- Emmanuel Macron -
In power since 2017 when he won the presidency in his first ever election, the 44-year-old pro-European had been enjoying a comfortable poll lead although this slipped as Le Pen gained ground.
Seen as having drifted rightwards during his term, he is promising more tax cuts, benefits reform and a raise in the retirement age if he becomes the first French president to be re-elected in 20 years.
LEFT
- Anne Hidalgo -
The mayor of Paris took on the task of trying to revive the fortunes of the floundering Socialist Party after it was trounced in the 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The soft-spoken 62-year-old has rarely convinced and appeared to be looking for a way out at the end of last year, with polls suggesting she may struggle to score even two percent.
- Yannick Jadot -
The former Greenpeace campaigner hoped to transform the dazzling success the Greens enjoyed in local elections two years ago, saying the French are ready to embrace an environmental revolution.
But pushing what he calls pragmatic policies to combat climate change instead of the more radical solutions sought by some in his party, he has failed to put the environment at the centre of the campaign.
FAR LEFT
- Jean-Luc Melenchon -
A political veteran famous for his tirades against globalisation and the "elites", the former Trotskyist is polling the strongest among the left-wing candidates and the only one with even a remote chance of making the second round.
A forceful speaker and debater, he is gaining momentum, holding rallies across the country and even appearing simultaneously across France as a hologram.
- Fabien Roussel -
The charismatic leader of France's Communist Party has seen his single-digit poll numbers hold firm, though his party remains a shadow of its post-war glory days.
Roussel has promised to increase taxes on companies and the highest earners as well as nationalise big banks and energy giants.
- Philippe Poutou -
The self-styled voice of the workers and scourge of professional politicians, the former Ford factory worker insulted fellow candidates during a TV debate in 2017 and refused to take part in a joint photo.
He is standing for the New Anti-Capitalist Party with a campaign promising to disarm the police and rebuild France's public administration.
- Nathalie Arthaud -
A low-key and bookish former teacher who is standing for the Workers' Struggle party in her third tilt at the presidency.
The Trotskyist is promising a huge hike in the minimum wage, a ban on job cuts and retirement at 60, but like all the other fringe candidates made little impact on the campaign.
RURALIST
- Jean Lassalle -
The eccentric MP from the Pyrenees mountains in the southwest is a former shepherd known for his strong regional accent and passionate defence of rural communities.
Viewed affectionately by many French people, he stands almost no chance in the presidential vote but will probably retain his seat in parliament if he stands in elections in June.