Round two of the French presidential elections 2022 takes place on Sunday.
Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to repel the threat coming from far right, spearheaded once again by the redoubtable and resurgent Marine le Pen.
Elections of this nature are never fought with the gloves on, but this year's French elections have been particularly spicy, their temperature raised to boiling point by divisions over France's response to Covid-19, Islamic terrorism and - above all other considerations - economic inequality.
Here, The National gives the timeline of French presidential elections 2022 and explains how they work.
When are the French presidential election 2022 polls?
The first round of voting took place on April 10 and saw centrist Mr Macron take the lead with 27.6 per cent of the vote, while Ms Le Pen was second with 23.4 per cent — setting up a rematch of the run-off in 2017, which the current president won by a landslide.
The second round of voting is on April 24 before the winner is formally anointed on May 13.
How do the French presidential elections work?
The 12 candidates in the field for the 2022 French elections were announced on March 7.
To be enlisted on the first round of the presidential ballot by the Constitutional Council, 500 endorsements are needed from elected French politicians.
If one candidate gets than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round, then he or she automatically wins the contest.
If no single candidate reaches this threshold in round one, the two candidates with the most votes progress to a final round of voting.
France election campaigns – in pictures
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People walk past official campaign posters of French presidential election candidates Marine le Pen and French President Emmanuel Macron, in Paris, France. Reuters -
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is running for re-election in the 2022 French election, at a campaign rally in Nanterre, Paris. Reuters -
French far-right Reconquete party leader and 2022 presidential election candidate Eric Zemmour (C) throws his arms aloft at the end of a campaign rally at Trocadero in Paris. EPA -
Far-right Rassemblement National party MP Marine Le Pen takes a selfie with supporters. AFP -
Les Republicains presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse delivers a speech on the campaign trail in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. AFP -
Ruralist party 'Resistons!' presidential candidate Jean Lassalle is surrounded by supporters before delivering a speech in Toulouse, southern France. AFP -
Official campaign posters of Marine le Pen and Emmanuel Macron pasted on bulletin boards near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Reuters -
Hundreds of public servants prepare party political propaganda to be mailed, only days before the first round of the presidential election in France. AFP -
A supporter holds up a placard reading "With You" at an election campaign event for Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Bloomberg -
Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists at the Maison de la Radio in Paris. AFP -
French far-left party Lutte Ouvriere (LO) presidential candidate Nathalie Arthaud (C) raises her hand at a rally at Zenith concert hall in Paris. AFP -
Emmanuel Macron sings the French national anthem as he appears on a giant screen at the end of his first campaign meeting at the Paris La Defence Arena in Nanterre. AFP -
French Socialist Party presidential candidate Anne Hidalgo waves to supporters in Paris. AFP -
French leftist party La France Insoumise presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon delivers a speech in Toulouse. AFP -
Europe Ecologie Les Verts presidential candidate Yannick Jadot plays football with youngsters at Andre-Malraux park in Nanterre. AFP -
A supporter of Valerie Pecresse holds a campaign poster in Paris. EPA -
Marine Le Pen gives a speech during a campaign meeting in Stiring-Wendel. AFP -
French far-left party Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste presidential candidate Philippe Poutou delivers a speech at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris. AFP -
French Communist Party presidential candidate Fabien Roussel sings at the end of a campaign meeting at the Double Mixte venue in Villeurbanne. AFP -
Far-right party Debout La France presidential candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan speaks to a fisherman in Palavas-les-Flots, southern France. AFP -
A campaign rally for Eric Zemmour in Paris. AFP
