Uncertainty looms in Paris on eve of presidential election

In the capital Paris, ballot boxes were being unloaded and taken into a town hall turned into a polling station for the election on Sunday (April 24).

Voters such as postal worker, Pascal Marignan, were still undecided about their vote.

"I’m going, to be honest, none of them (candidates) interest me. It will be complicated, ” he explained.

Children's accessory designer, Aurelie Manceau, believes the French could still be surprised by the result of Sunday's vote.

"I think some Melenchon voters could vote for Marine Le Pen in the second round," she told Reuters.

Surveys by France's leading pollsters published on Thursday (April 21) and Friday (April 22) showed President Emmanuel Macron's score was either stable or slightly rising to reach between 55.5% and 57.5%.

But they also put turnout at between 72% and 74%, which would be the lowest for a presidential run-off since 1969.

The centrist, former merchant banker Macron is a staunch supporter of the European Union and the kind of internationalism which has in recent years suffered setbacks from events such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen says Macron embodies an elitism that has failed ordinary people.

Her policies include a ban on Muslim headscarves in public, giving French nationals priority on jobs and benefits, and limiting Europe's rules on cross-border travel.