WORLD
Voting begins in final round of French presidential election
Baku, May 7, AZERTAC
Voters across France are choosing a new president Sunday in an unusually tense and important election that could decide Europe's future, making a stark choice between pro-business independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen, according to FRANCE 24.
Voting stations opened across mainland France at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) under the watch of 50,000 security forces guarding against extremist attacks. Polling agency projections and initial official results are expected as soon as the final stations close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT.)
Voting began Saturday in overseas territories, from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, an archipelago near Newfoundland, to French Guiana and the French West Indies and beyond. French citizens also turned out in droves to vote in the Canadian province of Quebec.