Swiss, Belgian media: Polls show French backing Macron

BRUSSELS – With voting in France’s presidential election still underway, Swiss and Belgian news organizations are reporting election-day polls suggesting that voters are backing centrist Emmanuel Macron by a strong margin over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

The race has been unpredictable and it is too early to say who is winning the election. Millions of votes have yet to be cast.

Swiss newspaper La Tribune de Geneve and Belgium’s RTBF and Le Soir all cited multiple polls. Le Soir and La Tribune de Geneve said the polls were conducted by French polling agencies surveying people who had already voted. They didn’t release further details of the polls’ methodology, making it impossible to determine how reliable they are. Publishing polls is banned in France itself until voting ends Sunday evening.

Pre-election polls had suggested Macron was the favourite by a large margin, leading Le Pen by about 60 per cent to 40 per cent. The election-day polls suggested that a significant number of voters were casting blank or spoiled ballots.