The French interior ministry reports a turnout of 28.5% by midday French time, 10:00 GMT. Turnout was 28.3% in 2012, so this is a minor uptick. Back in 2007, turnout was 31.2%.
French voters overseas have been already voting since Saturday. According to reports, there was a long line in Montreal, Canada, covering about two kilometers.
According to some analysts, a low turnout favors Le Pen, which has a solid, yet small base. On the other hand, Macron leads the polls, but he is new to the scene and his support is less stable.
All the main candidates have voted in their constituencies. Campaigning ended on Friday and so did polling, but it’s safe to assume that the campaigns were holding their own private polling.
The numbers we are seeing now show that predictions for a low turnout were probably wrong. On the other hand, we are not seeing a high turnout either.
The next update on turnout comes out at 17:00 local time, 15:00 GMT.
French elections – all the updates in one place
EUR/USD clsoed the week at 1.0724, enjoying a last-minute rise from the lows it fell to earlier in the day. Tension was very high towards the elections
