French line up abroad to vote in presidential cliffhanger

- From London to Berlin to Washington, French voters lined up at polling stations abroad over the weekend to cast ballots for one of the closest presidential elections in years back home. 


Around 1.3 million French people abroad are registered to vote - representing around 2 percent of the total electorate. 


In London - often called the sixth biggest French city - hundreds of people queued up outside the two polling stations well before they opened Sunday, with some waiting up to two hours to vote. 


In Berlin, people braved rain and hail in queues extending for up to 200 meters outside the French Embassy in the shadow of Brandenburg Gate. As they waited, voters chatted among themselves, some debating what a victory for Le Pen or Melenchon could mean for France and Europe. 


Residents in French overseas territories such as Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean had begun voting Saturday, along with expatriates in the United States, Canada and Latin America. 


Adrien Gontier, voting in the rainy U.S. capital Washington Saturday, said he was fulfilling his duty as a citizen. 


In the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, voters cast their ballots Saturday in the French Embassy, housed in the grandiose Ortiz Basualdo Palace.

Source: NNA