France votes under tight security

France voted on April 23 under heavy security in the first round of the most unpredictable presidential election in decades, with the outcome seen as vital for the future of the beleaguered European Union.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron were the favorites to progress to a run-off on May 7.

Le Pen, the 48-year-old leader of the National Front (FN), hoped to capitalize on security fears that were catapulted to the fore of the campaign after the fatal shooting of a policeman on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Aiming to ride a wave of populism that carried Donald Trump to the White House and led Britain to vote for Brexit, Le Pen wants France to abandon the euro and intends to call a referendum on withdrawing from the EU as well.

Observers predict that a Le Pen victory could be a fatal blow for the EU, already weakened by Britain's vote to leave.

Macron, 39, is seeking to become France's youngest ever president and has campaigned on a strongly pro-EU and pro-business platform.

Seeking to benefit from a worldwide move away from established political parties, the former banker and economy minister formed his own movement, "En Marche" ("On the Move"), that he says is "neither to the left nor to the right."

Le Pen cast her ballot in Henin-Beaumont, a former coal mining town in northern France that has an FN mayor.

Macron voted in the chic Normandy seaside resort of Le Touquet with wife Brigitte, his former high school teacher who is 25 years his senior.

In the wake of the policeman's killing on April 20, 50,000 police and 7,000 soldiers have been deployed around France to protect voters.

The terror...