The French, at the polls: "The future will be difficult and this is a European election. Le Pen cannot win"

A long queue surrounds the

.

About twenty people wait their turn in the sun while Ourane and Pablo put up posters with the face of the left-wing candidate, Jean Luc Mélenchon.

They are militants of unsubmissive France and they are in charge of verifying that today's voting takes place normally.

"We have voted for Mélenchon, he

, the only one that proposes a break with the capitalist system and the only one that has a program that defends public services. It is the only option for me," explains Pablo.

Ourane, next to him, is concerned about what might happen on this first election day: "Everything is very disturbing and the result is unknown, because we don't know to what extent Le Pen is supported," he explains.

In this electoral college, the majority shares this idea: we must vote to stop the extreme right, prevent Marine Le Pen from going to the second round.

Jean Luc

, the leftist candidate, third in the polls, the only one who

and dispute the final with Emmanuel Macron, the favorite.

"I have come to vote because

. Neither France nor Europe can afford it," says Elodie, a young woman who does not even dare to pronounce Le Pen's name.

Daniel, a young Italian with dual nationality, says he voted for Macron for a reason: "The next five years will be difficult and many problems will have to be faced, so this election is European. Le Pen cannot leave," he says.

extremes

He's been waiting in line for half an hour.

which, according to the first participation data, will be a record in these elections.

25% of citizens have voted, three points less than in 2017. "It is important to fulfill our duty as citizens," says Arnaud, a 60-year-old Frenchman who has gone to the polling station on crutches.

He does not say who he has voted for, only pointing out that "today the future of France is decided."

"This is a more important election than others, because

. This trend must be stopped quickly," says Elodie, who claims to have voted for Emmanuel Macron.

Codain is confident that

and finally go through to the second round.

"We live in a system in which only money matters. He is the only candidate with a program that can change this, that he truly thinks of the citizens," explains this retiree.

Polline also believes that "he is the one who has done the best campaign. Macron made a mistake by not wanting to participate in the televised debate because that has made him lose support," explains this young teacher, who has just voted, with her baby in her arms. : "

, with education and public health that are getting worse and worse. We must stop this ruin," he says.

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