French election 2017: voters go to the polls in wide-open contest

Voting is under way in the first round of an unpredictable French presidential election whose outcome could prove crucial for the future of a deeply divided country and a nervous European Union.

Less than two days after a gunman shot dead a policeman on the Champs-Elyséesin an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility, France’s 47 million registered voters – nearly a quarter of whom are still undecided – go to the polls amid heightened security.

The top two finishers from the 11 candidates in the first round will advance to a runoff on 7 May to decide the next president after a tense and tight election dominated by the economy, jobs, immigration and national identity.

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