France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters

It could be a wild day in Round 1 of election
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 23, 2017 5:57 AM CDT
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
A Femen activists wearing the mask of Marine le Pen is detained as they demonstrate in Henin Beaumont, northern France, where far-right leader candidate Le Pen will vote, Sunday, April 23, 2017.   (Michel Spingler)

A voting station in eastern France has reopened after being evacuated because of a suspicious vehicle parked nearby. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told the AP that the voting station in Besancon was evacuated while explosives experts examined the car, but they deemed there to be no risk. He said no other incidents have been reported in Sunday's first-round presidential election. Tens of thousands of security forces are guarding voting stations across France after an attack in Paris on Thursday revived security concerns. France remains under a state of emergency after deadly Islamic extremist attacks in recent years. The top two winners on Sunday will advance to a May 7 runoff. A look around the contentious election, the most unpredictable in generations:

  • Around six topless Femen demonstrators were detained when they staged a stunt against Marine Le Pen outside a polling station where the far-right presidential candidate was heading to vote. They jumped out of an SUV limo wearing masks of Le Pen and President Trump. Le Pen voted at the station shortly after without further disruption.
  • Centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, one of the frontrunners in France's unpredictable election, has voted in the coastal town of Le Touquet in northern France alongside his wife Brigitte Macron.
  • President Francois Hollande has cast his vote in his political fiefdom of Tulle in Correze, southwestern France. The incumbent Socialist made the unusual move last year of pledging to not stand for re-election. The Socialist candidate is 49-year-old Benoit Hamon, who is not among the frontrunners.
  • The wife of conservative candidate and former PM Francois Fillon has cast her ballot near their country home—conspicuously not alongside her husband. Penelope Fillon, 61, was handed preliminary charges for her role in a fake jobs scandal—dubbed "Penelopegate"—that had threatened to derail her husband's campaign.
  • The vote "is really important, mainly because we really need a change in this country with all the difficulties we are facing and terrorism," said Paris resident Alain Richaud. "It's definitely risky, but I have faith in the result even if an extreme candidate qualifies for the second round," said Beatrice Schopflin.
(More France stories.)

France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron waves after voting in the first round of the French presidential election, in le Touquet, northern France, Sunday April 23, 2017.    (Thibault Camus)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
A woman casts her vote for the first-round presidential election at a polling station in Paris, Sunday, April 23, 2017. French voters are casting ballots for their next president in an unusually close first-round election Sunday.   (Emilio Morenatti)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
A reporter videos outside the voting station in Henin Beaumont, northern France, where far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen will vote, during the first round of the French presidential election, Sunday April 23, 2017.   (Michel Spingler)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
Police officers adjust their caps as they arrive to secure a polling station where far-right leader and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Marine Le Pen is voting for the first-round presidential election in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, Sunday, April 23, 2017.   (Frank Augstein)
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France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
Independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Trogneux arrive at their home in Le Touquet Paris Plage, northern France, Saturday, April 22, 2017. Macron is a newcomer in politics with strong pro-business, pro-European views.   (Christophe Ena)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
A cyclist rides past polling station signs in Ville d'Avray, near Paris, France, Sunday, April 23, 2017.   (Beryrand Combaldieu)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
Residents of Ville d'Avray, near Paris, France, walk past polling station signs, Sunday, April 23, 2017.   (Beryrand Combaldieu)
France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters
A man casts his vote for the first-round presidential election at a polling in Tulle central France, Sunday, April 23, 2017. French voters are casting ballots for their next president in an unusually close first-round election Sunday.   (Bob Edme)