Today, Sunday, April 23, French voters go to the polls in the first round of the presidential election. The stakes are high and the election has been very chaotic. The top four candidates in the field are separated in polls by a handful of points, with surveys picking up high numbers of undecideds. Three of the top four candidates -- Jean-Luc Melenchon, Marine Le Pen, and Emmanuel Macron -- represent parties outside the mainstream of French politics. The other candidate, Francois Fillon, has been mired in scandal since early this year. All four have a realistic chance of being among the top two vote-getters, who will then square off in a second round on May 7.
To complicate matters, last week's terrorist attack will be on voters' minds, and it happened too late for polls, which were blacked out from Friday, to digest.
Polling stations close at 7 p.m. French time in most places, and at 8 p.m. in big cities. Here is what to read to keep updated.
Background: Read all articles on France published and linked at RealClearWorld.
Candidates: Read about Marine Le Pen, Francois Fillon, Emmanuel Macron, and Jean-Luc Melenchon.
As it breaks: Politico Europe is running a live blog, and also offers this list of 11 must-reads.
French press: To follow the day in the French media, read Le Monde, Le Figaro, L'Obs, Les Echos, Atlantico, Liberation, Le Point, and Slate.Fr.
