The first round of the French presidential election has officially started with the opening of the first polling stations overseas.
In the vote on the highest French office, the liberal incumbent Emmanuel Macron wants to get a second term.
His main rival is right-winger Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National.
The outcome of the election is therefore significant for cooperation with Germany and in Europe.
The small French archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's east coast gave the go-ahead for the election.
The first three polling stations opened here on Saturday afternoon (8 a.m. local time), as a spokeswoman for the town hall in Saint-Pierre confirmed to the German Press Agency.
The majority of the French can vote on Sunday, with the results being announced in the evening.
Because of the time difference, some overseas territories are already voting on Saturday - including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Polynesia.
Polls put Macron ahead in the election, even if the gap to Le Pen has recently narrowed.
A final decision on the presidency is not expected for the first round.
If, as expected, none of the twelve candidates achieves an absolute majority of the votes, a runoff between the two best-placed candidates will take place on April 24th.