Follow the latest updates as polls predict a tight first round finish between the president, Emmanuel Macron, and Marine Le Pen, from the far-right National Rally
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first round of the 2022 French presidential election.
It looks like being a nail-bitingly close-run thing, with opinion polls showing the gap between Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) and the outgoing president, centrist Emmanuel Macron, steadily narrowing over the past few weeks.