French people have been going to the polls in their millions, in an election that will be pivotal to the future of the country - and that of the entire continent.

Opinion polls had appeared to leave little doubt, suggesting Emmanuel Macron would be winner, with more than 60% of the vote. At the age of 39, he would be the youngest president of the Fifth Republic.

According to an Ipsos-Steria estimate for France Télévisions, Radio France LCP / Public Sénat, RFI-France 24, Le Point and Le Monde, abstention could amount to 26 per cent of voters.

And at 5pm this Sunday, participation in the second round of the presidential election was 65.30 per cent, down by six points compared to that of 2012. Those figures will be of some concern to Mr Macron's team, whose biggest fear has been voter apathy.

But how many of his electors will have voted to defend his program and his values? What part of the vote will be a rejection of the candidate of the Front National? Who will benefit most from those abstaining?

In Paris, where only five per cent of Parisians voted for Marine Le Pen in the first round, it is under a grey rainy sky that people go to the polls.

Vichea Pes, 32-year-old project manager consultant, has just cast a bulletin for Mr Macron.

"I had already voted for him in the first round because he is closest to my ideas, but I have serious reservations about his programme and how he intends to translate his ideas into action. It is rather vague," he told The Independent.

Emmanuelle, a 38-year-old Parisian woman "hates FN's ideas so fiercely" and thinks that if ms Le Pen is elected, "she will lead France directly to bankruptcy".

She will vote for Mr Macron because "it's the lesser evil”. She said she was "full of disillusionment with these politicians who have lost the aura necessary to govern a country".

But this "Republican front", which was evident in 2002, when it carried crowds of people in the street to block Jean-Marie Le Pen and re-elect Jacques Chirac with more than 80%, is unlikely to prove as comprehensive this year.

In the duel between Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen, one can expect a significant score of "ni-ni" (neither one, neither the other).

In an open letter to the magazine Causeur, lawyer Guillaume Sergent explains why he will vote for neither and rejects the "Republican front" that would force him to block the Front National.

He claims the right to "not choose", because even if he "understands the repugnance inspired by a vote for the National Front", he does not want to vote "for a candidate who is obviously ready for anything and who represents post-France, ... by its desire to substitute labour law for the 'Uberisation' of relations, by the repentant criticism of its history, by the invitation to youth to become a billionaire."

The bar of Paris advised its members to vote for Mr Macron to block Ms Le Pen, but he assures me that some Parisian lawyers will vote for the National Front candidate.

The latest polls predicted that just under half of the electors of Francois Fillon would vote for Mr Macron today, against 28% for Ms Le Pen, while a quarter would abstain.

The debate has clearly moved the lines in favour of En Marche's candidate.

Quentin, 30, who had voted François Fillon is sipping a coffee just yards from the polling station, but will not go to the polls. He is "angry and disappointed" about the result in the first round, during which "his champion was eliminated because of a media harassment".

Julien Mielchoc, 38, financial advisor, is also disappointed because his "candidate was eliminated" and today he "has the impression of having to choose between plague and cholera, between the fascist dictatorship and that of the bankers".

Nevertheless, he tells The Independent he is about to go to the polling station to vote "against the blockade of our country and of Europe" - and thus against Marine Le Pen.

Caroline, 42, a perfume development assessor, went early this morning to vote for Mr Macron.

"It's not my candidate, it's the first time I vote for the left-side," she explained.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election French expats queue along the street outside the Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle to cast their vote in a polling station inside the school, in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election, in London, Britain April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor - RTS13JM5 REUTERS French Presidential Election People line up to vote in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Vaulx-en-Velin near Lyon, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot - RTS13HSP REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election Francois Fillon (L), member of the Republicans political party and 2017 French presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, casts his vote in the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Christophe Archambault/Pool - RTS13IH0 REUTERS French Presidential Election Benoit Hamon (C), French Socialist party 2017 presidential candidate, is surrounded by photographers as he leaves a polling station after voting in the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Trappes, near Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler - RTS13I0Y REUTERS French Presidential Election French President Francois Hollande collects voting slips before casting his ballot in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Tulle, France, on April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Georges Gobet/Pool - RTS13ITO REUTERS French Presidential Election A policeman walks by election posters near a polling station during the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann - RTS13I3A REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, waves hand during in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - RTS13ICH SAA/ French Presidential Election Jean-Luc Melenchon, candidate of the French far-left Parti de Gauche and candidate for the French 2017 presidential election, leaves a polling booth in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTS13IKB REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot Marine Le Pen (L), French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, casts her ballot in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, April 23, 2017. At R, Mayor of Henin-Beaumont Steeve Briois. REUTERS/Charles Platiau - RTS13IEI REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy Live News. J21KYW Paris, France. 23rd April 2017. Marcon supporters wave French and EU flags after the announcement that he is the leader in the exit polls after the polling stations have been closed. Supporters of Emmanuel Macron, the Presidential candidate from the social liberal political party En Marche! celebrate the exit polls, that see him in first place, ahead of Marine Le Pen from the Front National in the first round of the French Presidential election. Credit: Michael Debets/Alamy Live News This is an Alamy Live News image and may not be part of your current Alamy deal . If you are unsure, please contact our sales team to check. Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

"But considering what’s at stakes, I would rather vote for a European Democrat than for an incompetent and dangerously intolerant candidate, as Wednesday's debate demonstrated too well," she concludes.

She said that debate showed "the professional mediocrity of Marine Le Pen" and her inability to fulfil the functions of a president.

Gilles, 36, also voted Fillon in the first round but will vote Macron. He explains that he is his second choice.

"I believe in many points of his programmes," he said.

On the other hand, he says, the debate, "made him realise the little background of MLP" and he finds Macron "much more credible as president".

There are also those who favoured left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round.

Emilien, 35, commercial director, declared: "I will vote by Republican conviction, therefore Macron."

He explains that for him the ideas of Ms Le Pen are not Republican, he has "the feeling that she is a threat to democracy".

And above all, he "does not like speeches that frighten and divide".