Follow the latest updates as projections predict a run-off between president, Emmanuel Macron, and Marine Le Pen, from the far-right National Rally
French election 2022: live resultsMacron and Le Pen vie closely for presidency as voters cast ballotsFrom cat lover Le Pen to far right’s red card: five key moments
Plenty of Macron merch on offer for those at the outgoing president’s post-vote pep talk:
The abstention rate, likely to prove crucial in this election, is likely to be between 25% and 26.5 %, according to French pollsters – higher than in the previous 2017 first round (22.2%), but not at 2002’s record level of 28.4 %.