+ A
A -
dpa
Paris
French citizens in some overseas territories in the Americas and South Pacific were heading to the polls on Saturday to choose the next president, a day earlier than their mainland counterparts.
Emmanuel Macron, the centrist incumbent who was first elected president of France in 2017, is facing several challengers but the most formidable is the far-right’s Marine Le Pen.
France is the world’s seventh-biggest economy and a main driver of policy in the European Union. A win by Le Pen, a strident eurosceptic who is in favour of tough anti-immigration policies, could upend European politics.
Polls show Macron ahead, although Le Pen has been narrowing the gap.
The presidency is not expected to be decided this weekend: If, as is all but certain, none of the 12 candidates achieve an absolute majority, then two top vote-getters go to a run-off on April 24.
Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon also has an outside chance of making it to the run-off, having recently made considerable gains in the polls and ranking third - albeit still several percentage points behind Macron and Le Pen.
Because of the time difference with far-flung territories, voting takes place on Saturday in many of them, including Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, situated off the east coast of Canada, along with French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Polynesia.
Polls in mainland France open on Sunday at 8 am (0600 GMT). The first projections are expected immediately after the last polls close at 8 pm.
French presidents are elected to five-year terms and wield considerable power.
As set out in the constitution, they include appointing the prime minister, chairing the council of ministers and appointing officials.
He or she can also dissolve parliament.
A president who is backed by a parliamentary majority can therefore make sure his or her programme for ruling the country is implemented.
If another party has a majority, the president has little choice but to appoint a prime minister from that party, who then in essence gets to determine the country’s domestic policy.
As head of the armed forces, the president has broad powers during emergencies and effectively retains control over foreign affairs and defence policy, even when another party controls the government.
Elections for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, begin on June 12.
Paris
French citizens in some overseas territories in the Americas and South Pacific were heading to the polls on Saturday to choose the next president, a day earlier than their mainland counterparts.
Emmanuel Macron, the centrist incumbent who was first elected president of France in 2017, is facing several challengers but the most formidable is the far-right’s Marine Le Pen.
France is the world’s seventh-biggest economy and a main driver of policy in the European Union. A win by Le Pen, a strident eurosceptic who is in favour of tough anti-immigration policies, could upend European politics.
Polls show Macron ahead, although Le Pen has been narrowing the gap.
The presidency is not expected to be decided this weekend: If, as is all but certain, none of the 12 candidates achieve an absolute majority, then two top vote-getters go to a run-off on April 24.
Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon also has an outside chance of making it to the run-off, having recently made considerable gains in the polls and ranking third - albeit still several percentage points behind Macron and Le Pen.
Because of the time difference with far-flung territories, voting takes place on Saturday in many of them, including Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, situated off the east coast of Canada, along with French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Polynesia.
Polls in mainland France open on Sunday at 8 am (0600 GMT). The first projections are expected immediately after the last polls close at 8 pm.
French presidents are elected to five-year terms and wield considerable power.
As set out in the constitution, they include appointing the prime minister, chairing the council of ministers and appointing officials.
He or she can also dissolve parliament.
A president who is backed by a parliamentary majority can therefore make sure his or her programme for ruling the country is implemented.
If another party has a majority, the president has little choice but to appoint a prime minister from that party, who then in essence gets to determine the country’s domestic policy.
As head of the armed forces, the president has broad powers during emergencies and effectively retains control over foreign affairs and defence policy, even when another party controls the government.
Elections for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, begin on June 12.
