By AFPMore by this AuthorPARISThe two frontrunners in France's closely fought presidential election, centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, cast their ballots as the first round of voting kicked off on Sunday. A throng of well-wishers and journalists were on hand as Macron, 39, accompanied by his 64-year-old wife Brigitte, arrived to vote in the chic northern seaside resort of Le Touquet. POLICEMAN KILLINGLe Pen, 48, went to the polls in Henin-Beaumont, a former coal mining town in northern France whose mayor is a member of her anti-immigration National Front (FN) party. Polls have consistently predicted that Macron and Le Pen will get past Sunday's first round vote, but conservative candidate Francois Fillon and Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon are hot on their heels. Eleven candidates are standing in the first round of a vote whose outcome is seen as vital for the future of the European Union following Britain's Brexit vote last year.

Source: Daily Nation April 23, 2017 16:18 UTC