French voters cast ballots in first round of presidential election

Voters in France streamed to polling stations on Sunday for the first round of a tense contest for the presidency, with incumbent Emmanuel Macron’s hopes of re-election clouded by 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 he’s up against 11 other candidates and widespread voter anger and apathy.

Le Pen, in particular, has tapped into the foremost issue on many voters’ minds: living costs that have soared amid the disruptions of war in Ukraine and the economic repercussions of Western sanctions on Russia.