


The tradition in France is that at 8pm all eyes turn to TV screens where the images of the two candidates who qualify for the second round will be displayed.
But things may be a little different this year. Previously voting stations (apart from those in the big cities) have closed at 6pm giving counters in the 250 designated polling stations on which the initial result is based, plenty of time to find out who is on top.
But this year those polls will close at 7pm, meaning the results given at 8pm on TV screens will only be based on a partial count. And in this year's tight election race it might not be possible to pick the two clear winners at such an early stage.
The partial results however will be rapidly updated throughout the night as counting continues so if we don't know for certain at 8pm we soon will.
With social media and foreign media who don't stick to the strict rules it's been hard in the past to keep the results under wraps until 8pm.
That's why you might see people wildly celebrating or groaning long before 8pm. French media can be fined up to €75,000 if they release the results before 8pm.

Member comments