At 17:00 on Sunday, 63.23% of French people entitled to vote had already gone to the polling stations, the French Interior Ministry announced on Twitter.
The turnout is about 2% lower than it was at the same time during the previous presidential elections in 2017 (65.30%), and also 1.8% lower than during the first round of the presidential elections on 10 April.
At 12:00, the turnout also was 2% lower than at the same time in the 2017 presidential elections.
Before the start of the second round, some observers indicated that they feared the turnout would be very low. However, while the turnout now is still slightly lower than five years ago, their fears do not seem to have been realised.
The polling stations across the country will remain open until 19:00, in the big cities until 20:00. In the overseas territories, the Presidential elections already kicked off on Saturday.
What will happen when the results are in tonight?
Both incumbent Emmanuel Macron of the liberal centre party La République en Marche (LREM) and his challenger Marine Le Pen of the far-right and nationalist Rassemblement National (RN) already made plans for a possible victory party tonight.
Macron is opting for the classic approach: he will address his party members and supporters at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Le Pen, on the other hand, reportedly wants to do things differently: 13 buses with her image on them – that she already used during her campaign – will drive to Paris, according to various local reports. The buses symbolise her connection with the areas further away from the French capital.
