Long lines form as up to 1.6million French nationals living in the UK head to the ballot box to cast their vote

Wow 1.6 Million French Nationals living in UK

French voters began casting ballots for the presidential election Sunday in a tense first-round poll that's seen as a test for the spread of populism around the world. More than 60,000 polling stations opened at 6am for voters who will choose between 11 candidates in the most unpredictable election in decades. Opinion polls point to a tight race among the four leading contenders vying to advance to the May 7 presidential runoff, when the top two candidates face off. Polls suggest far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, were in the lead. But conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister, who was embroiled in a scandal over alleged fake jobs appeared to be closing the gap, as was far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.