Voters in France have taken to the polls for the presidential election amid heightened security in the wake of the deadly terror attack on a police officer.
Some 50,000 police and 7,000 soldiers are deployed at polling stations across the country, with eleven candidates fighting for the presidency.
Nine candidates will be eliminated in today’s vote in the highly-charged election, with François Fillon, Benoît Hamon, Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon considered the frontrunners.
National security has proved a key topic in the campaign, with far-right and left wing candidates standing.
The extra security measures are in place following the killing of a police officer by convicted criminal Karim Cheurfi, on the Champs Elysees in Paris on Thursday.
Two candidates will go through to the May 7 run-off, except in the unlikely event of a candidate winning the first round outright with 50 per cent plus one of the votes.
Polls suggest centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and the far-right's Marine Le Pen are the two most likely to advance, but Gaullist candidate Francois Fillon is still in close contention despite the "fake jobs" scandal that has dogged his campaign.
Leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon has surged in the closing days of the campaign.
Current president François Hollande's five-year term has been scarred by terror attacks that killed hundreds in Paris and Nice, and he decided last year not to seek a second term.
It is the first time an incumbent has chosen not to defend his presidency at the ballot box since the creation of France's Fifth Republic constitution in 1958.
Ms Le Pen's strong security and anti-immigrant message has seen her make gains after the terror attacks, but she cannot be sure of a place in round two.
Following the terror attack in Paris Ms Le Pen took to Twitter to offer her sympathy for law enforcement officers "once again targeted".
The 11 candidates were appearing on a television programme ahead of the first round of voting when the attacker opened fire.
Police arrested two men on Tuesday in what they described as a thwarted terror attack.
