PARIS (Sputnik) – According to Le Monde newspaper, just over five percent of Strasbourg's citizens were excluded from electoral lists for failing to properly notify the relevant authorities of the changes in their, among other things, address or surname.
Residents from France's Nancy and Clichy faced similar problems, the newspaper noted, adding that those who were excluded from the first round voting process could take legal action in order to get a chance to participate in the early May run-off.
In the first election round, far-right Marine Le Pen received 21.42 percent of votes, while her rival, centrist Emmanuel Macron, currently leads with 23.86 percent, according to the preliminary results published by the French Interior Ministry with 97 percent of votes counted.
The Republicans' French presidential nominee Francois Fillon, while already conceding defeat late on Sunday, is likely to come in third place 19.94 percent of the vote. The two top candidates, namely Macron and Le Pen, will have a chance to compete for the French presidency in the second election round.
France held the first presidential election round on Sunday, and the run-off is slated for May 7.
