Will this vote see the highest abstention in nearly half a century? That's what French commercial broadcaster BFMTV is asking.  

14 May: President François Hollande’s term expires at 10:00 GMT, so the new president will have to be inaugurated by that time. 

Mid-May: The president will name his prime minister. Often this happens on inauguration day.

11 and 18 June: Two rounds of legislative elections.

We are told that the performers at the Emmanuel Macron event on the grounds of the Louvre will include Magic System, DJ Michael Canitrot, singer Cris Cab, and DJ Richard Orlinski.

The BBC's Maria Byrne is following the build-up in central Paris.

The BBC's James Reynolds is at her campaign headquarters.

Her team is in Vincennes, just outside Paris.

The winner of today's poll is due to be sworn in in a week's time - on 14 May

A huge press pack of reporters from all over the world is waiting for far-right leader Le Pen, as this AFP journalist's tweet shows.

However some media organisations have not been given accreditation to cover the event and others are staying away in solidarity with them.

Turnout was just over 65% at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT), down from almost 72% at the same time in 2012, the interior ministry says,

BBC Turkish reporter Cagil Kasapoglu has sent this photo of young people in Paris with their faces painted in different EU flags.

They are standing in front of a golden statue of French national hero Joan of Arc. The far-right National Front have linked themselves to the figure and the statue has been a rallying point for party demonstrations in the past.

Find out more about Marine Le Pen from the far-right National Front and Emmanuel Macron from the centrist En Marche movement.

Voting has now ended in most of France but continues in big cities until 18:00 GMT.

Le Monde is the latest newspaper to announce it is staying away from Le Pen's post-election event. Libération did so earlier, expressing solidarity with other media that had been refused accreditation by the organisers.

The BBC's Helene Daouphars is at the La Bellevilloise bar near Ménilmontant in the 20th arrondissement, where people are gathering to watch the election results as they come in on a big screen.

We'll be streaming the BBC's live TV coverage here on this page from about 17:30 GMT (that's 18:30 BST in the UK)

Internationally, BBC World News television will run the special programme “France decides: The Presidential Election 2017” from 17:30-21:30 GMT (in just under an hour).

It will also be broadcast domestically on BBC News.

BBC World Service radio will be running a special edition of Newshour from 18:00 - 21:00 GMT.

Image source, Reuters

French people are voting for a new president.

Read our in-depth coverage, including the latest on a lower then expected turnout and the hacking attack on Macron.

Find out why the election is so important.

And discover more about the candidates' competing visions for France and the rest of the world.

The BBC's Eddy Wax has been to the Parc de la Villette in Paris, where a group of anarchists opposed to both candidates have gathered and are singing songs.