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Lineups were long for French expats waiting to vote in France’s presidential election in Montreal Saturday.

Montreal police block street, as French voters stand in line waiting to cast a ballot in their country’s presidential election. Saturday, April 22, 2017. Courtesy TVA

The polling station, located in Outremont, opened at 8 a.m. for the first round of voting.

READ MORE: Obama calls French presidential candidate days before voters cast ballots

Hundreds stood outside, some waited in the drizzling rain for over an hour, to cast their ballot.

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By early afternoon, some estimated the wait time had swelled to between four to six hours.

#ElectionPresidentielle2017 à montréal 47000 français sur les liste, un seul bureau de vote… 4 à 6h d'attente! pic.twitter.com/zwOR67N36l — Géraldine (@rondcontrecarre) April 22, 2017

The most recent numbers from the French embassy indicate that more than 57, 000 citizens were registered to vote in the city, — an increase since the last election in 2012.

READ MORE: French election could be ‘a historical inflection point’: former Obama adviser

Some were critical of organizers, wondering why more polling stations were not made available for the increased number of voters.

57 000 français à #Montreal et un seul lieu de vote ! Merci le #consulatdefrance pour cette super organisation #Presidentielle2017 — Suzanne Dufresne (@suzychnu) April 22, 2017

Pundits say the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the first round of voting could be what’s driving the high turnout.

READ MORE: Right-wing French politician Marine Le Pen gets frosty reception in Montreal

Many French Montrealers said their main reason to come out and vote was to block extremists from moving forward — namely far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Recent polls suggest Le Pen is almost guaranteed to move ahead to the second round of voting.

Polls are scheduled to close at 8 p.m.

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–With files from the Canadian Press