French voters to decide between Le Pen, Macron

Paris May 7 (IANS) French voters on Sunday will choose their next president after an unpredictable campaign that has divided the country the media reported.

The second round contest pits centrist Emmanuel Macron a 39-year-old former investment banker against the far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen 48 the BBC reported. Citizens in some overseas territories and many French expats abroad have begun voting. The polls open in metropolitan France at 8 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. Polling stations will remain open in some big cities until 8 p.m. with early estimates of the result due to be reported immediately after they close. The two candidates who topped a field of 11 presidential hopefuls in the first round election on April 23 have offered voters starkly different visions of France reports the BBC. Macron a liberal centrist is pro-business and a strong supporter of the European Union (EU) while Le Pen campaigned on a France-first anti-immigration programme. She wants France to abandon the euro in the domestic economy and hold a referendum on France s EU membership. Macron is widely expected to win the vote but analysts have said high abstention rates could damage his chances. --IANS ksk