IT’S HAPPENING

French Voters Head to the Polls

Security concerns plague vote.

French voters are heading to the polls on Sunday in the first round of voting in this year’s presidential election, amid heightened security following another terror attack in Paris last week that killed a police officer. Around 50,000 police officers and 7,000 soldiers were being used at polling places nationwide. The top two finishers in Sunday’s vote will head to a runoff. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to advance to the runoff, with centrist Emmanuel Macron, conservative Francois Fillon, and far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon vying for the second spot. President Donald Trump tacitly backed Le Pen last week in an interview with the Associated Press, calling her the “strongest” candidate. On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted: “Very interesting election currently taking place in France.”