Muristek
Paris, April 10
French voters headed to polling stations nationwide on Sunday for the first round of the country's presidential election, one that seemed for months like a shoo-in for French President Emmanuel Macron but is now a tossup amid a strong challenge from the far right's Marine Le Pen.
Macron, a centrist, is asking France's 48 million voters for a second five-year term — but there are 11 other candidates and widespread voter apathy standing in his way.
Many French also blame Macron for not doing enough to help them cope with the soaring costs of food, fuel and heating, or say he has ignored domestic concerns amid his focus on the war in Ukraine.
With war raging on the European Union's eastern border, this French presidential election has significant international implications, including the potential to reshape France's post-war identity and indicate whether European populism is on the ascendant or in the decline.
France is the 27-member bloc's second-largest economy after Germany, the only one with a UN Security Council veto, and its sole nuclear power. And as Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps up his military's assault on Ukraine, French power will help shape Europe's response. Macron is the only leading presidential candidate who fully supports the NATO military alliance. — AP