'Uninspired' French go to the polls

Voters were making a preliminary choice today between France’s invigorated conservatives and its squabbling leftists amid signs the apathy that helped an extremist qualify for a presidential run-off last month might be returning.

Four hours after the polls opened, at noon local time (11am Irish time), 19.7% of eligible voters had cast ballots, the Interior Ministry said. It compared with 22.7% participation at the same time in the first round of the 1997 legislative race.