French vote in watershed election for country, Europe

PARIS, May 7 (Xinhua) — Polling stations opened on France’s European mainland on Sunday for the decisive round of a presidential election crucial for both the country and the European Union (EU).

Nearly 47 million voters are expected to cast their ballots, choosing between pro-Europe, pro-business centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, and anti-immigration, anti-EU far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The two contenders proposed very different prospects for France throughout an intense campaign.

Dubbed himself as “the candidate for jobs,” Macon invited electorate from various political views to endorse his pro-business projects and plans to revive the European project.

His rival Le Pen, proposing a strict opposite program based on protectionist approaches, promised voters a return to the national currency and tightening internal borders to restore security.

At a polling station in an elementary school in Paris northern suburbs, white voting papers with the name of the two finalists, were stacked on the tables, ready for people to take into the voting booth.

The volunteering staff were welcoming voters under the watch of gendarmes deployed to ensure a smooth voting in a context of high security risk.

Wahiba, a nursery assistant of Algerian origin, is a Greens faithful but switched to the centrist candidate given the absence of the ecologists in the presidency race.

“I think Macron is the less worst among all the candidates. Le Pen’s proposals make me worried about the future of our children. I choose Macron,” she told Xinhua.

To Telly, a supporter of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who was defeated in first round, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“I voted for Macron. He showed that he can govern by gathering all the French regardless their cultural, origin and religion differences,” the young woman said.

Stephane, a taxi driver, said he voted for the anti-establishment candidate Le Pen in a “punishment vote” over “failed policies of mainstream parties” that dominated the French political landscape for decades.

“The right or the left are the two faces of the same coin. They pledged a lot but did little for people. And even Macron is following their path. So, I’m supporting Le Pen who is proposing something different,” he said.

A retired voter who refused to be named shared the same view.

“Why we don’t let the far-right test its policy on the ground? Maybe it can succeed in what the so-called major parties failed to do,” he said.

More than 66,000 polling stations on the French European mainland opened for Sunday’s runoff vote at 08:00 local time (0600 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 20:00 in big cities, while the rest will close at 19:00.

French voters in overseas territories casted their votes on Saturday, but the results will be only known after all votes are casted on the mainland.

Preliminary projections of the voting results are expected to be revealed by various sources after 20:00. The law bans the publication of any early poll or counting results of the vote before all polling stations are closed.