Armed police patrol in groups in Paris – thousands of extra officers have been called in. Several voters tell TT that they fear violence in the wake of the polarized French election.
In Paris, the extra security measures are clear. Police walk in groups of three or four with visible weapons. People on the streets shout various versions of "vote", an appeal to vote, according to TT's correspondent.
A steady stream of voters flows to and from the polling stations in central Paris.
Voter Nicolas, who does not want to give his last name, believes that there will be strikes if the far-right party National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, becomes the largest party.
We will not be able to take the subway or train. RN's opponents will do everything to show their discontent, he says.
According to French newspapers, several shops in the city center have installed wooden boards as protection for their storefronts, fearing riots when the election results are announced on Sunday evening.
I hope hatred does not win. They will set everything on fire if RN wins, says a 60-year-old man outside a polling station in the ninth district of the capital.
The Green Party leader Marine Tondelier writes on X that she is very worried about the evening, referring to reports that a neo-Nazi group has called for attacks on several locations around the country.
