Voting begins in French presidential election

Polling stations opened Sunday on France's European mainland to allow 44 million registered voters to take part in the first round of voting in the country's presidential election.

Polling stations opened Sunday on France's European mainland to allow 44 million registered voters to take part in the first round of voting in the country's presidential election.

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Some 85,000 voting stations were thrown open at 8.00am (0600 GMT), and were due to stay open to 6.00pm -- or 8.00pm in major cities. Voting began Saturday for expatriate voters and those in France's overseas territories.