Iran Press/ Europe: The muted campaign and broader disillusionment with politics have contributed to concerns that many voters will sit out the election. According to official figures, by noon on Sunday, voter turnout was 25.48 percent, the lowest in a French presidential election since 2002.
The first round of the presidential election has come alive in the past two weeks as Marine Le Pen, the perennial far-right candidate, has steadily cut the polling lead of the incumbent, President Emmanuel Macron.
1st round of France's presidential election kicks off as Macron faces a tough fight
Within two percentage points of Mr. Macron in the latest Ifop-Fiducial poll, Ms. Le Pen has softened her tone, if not her virulently anti-immigrant program. She has given the impression of being closer to the day-to-day concerns of the French people, especially with regard to sharply rising gas prices and inflation.
The possibility of France lurching toward an anti-NATO, pro-Russia, xenophobic, and nationalistic position in the event of a Le Pen victory constitutes a potential shock as significant as the 2016 British vote for Brexit or the election the same year of Donald J. Trump as president in the United States.
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