France gears up for presidential poll
Polling stations open this afternoon as France goes to the polls to elect a new president.
Twelve candidates are standing and two of them are likely to go forward to a second round of voting in a fortnight’s time.
Former interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy from the centre-right, has led the opinion polls on the eve of voting, with pollsters suggesting three other candidates will battle for a place in the second round vote.
They are socialist Segolene Royal, who is hoping to become France’s first female president, Francois Bayrou from the centre and far-right leader Jean Marie Le Pen.
About 800,000 expatriates have already begun voting.
Preliminary results are due tomorrow morning.