France began voting in a presidential run-off election on Sunday in a race between incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right politician Marine Le Pen.

Mr Macron is in pole position to win re-election in the country’s presidential run-off, yet his lead over Ms Le Pen depends on one major uncertainty: voters who could decide to stay home.

A Macron victory in this vote would make him the first French president in 20 years to win a second term.

All opinion polls in recent days converge toward a win for the 44-year-old pro-European centrist — yet the margin over his nationalist rival varies broadly, from six to 15 percentage points, depending on the poll.

Polls also forecast a possibly record-high number of people who will either cast a blank vote or not vote at all.

Polling stations opened at 8am local time on Sunday and close at 7pm in most places, apart from big cities that have chosen to keep stations open until 8pm.