Low turnout as France goes to the polls to elect new president

Polls are open in France for a presidential election that has been characterised by demagoguery and the lack of a political agenda. Voting started at 8am and will end at 8pm (18:00 GMT) when the first projections of results are expected to be broadcast on French television channels. By midday, voter turnout was 25.5 percent, the interior ministry said, below the 28.5 percent of the 2017 poll. The incumbent Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking a second term, seemed like a runaway for most of the campaign, banking on his “statesman” role in the Russia-Ukraine war. If he succeeds in securing a second term, he will become the first president in 20 years, since Jacques Chirac, to do so. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports from Paris. – Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/ – Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/ – Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ #France
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