Some 48.8 million eligible voters can cast their ballots across France on Sunday in the first round of the country's presidential election to choose their new president for the next five years.

They can choose between 12 candidates, including current President Emmanuel Macron.

Most polling stations in Metropolitan France will close at 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) or one hour later in larger cities such as Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux.

According to a survey on voting intentions published on Wednesday by market research firm Ipsos, Macron should lead the first round, followed by Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party and Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads the left-wing La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France) party.

Emmanuel Macron: The 44-year-old worked in banking and served as economy minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande before launching his own En Marche centrist party in 2016. He had never run for public office before winning the presidency in his first attempt in 2017. He beat Le Pen in the second round, taking 66.1 percent of the vote. As president, he has pushed pro-business reforms but faced many challenges, from mass strikes and the yellow vest movement to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marine Le Pen: The 53-year-old took over as leader of the National Front in 2011 from her infamous far-right father, Jean-Marie, and secured a party record 17.9 percent in the first-round vote in the 2012 presidential election. She rebranded the party as National Rally in 2017 and won 21.3 percent, sending her into a runoff which she lost to Macron.

Jean-Luc Melenchon: The 70-year-old former Socialist senator, who started his own hard-left party in 2009, backs a 32-hour working week and opposes French membership in NATO. He stood for the presidency in 2012, winning 11.1 percent of the first-round vote, and nearly made the second round in 2017 when he took 19.6 percent. 

Purchasing power is a top concern given the increase in the Consumer Price Index by 4.5 percent in March 2022, after a 3.6-percent hike in the previous month.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the environment, the health care system, immigration and social inequalities are also among the topics that interest French voters the most, Ipsos said.

In France, it is not allowed to publish exit polls before voting ends.

Official preliminary results will be announced on Sunday night or Monday morning after verification by the interior ministry.

If no candidate gains an absolute majority of votes in the first round, a run-off will take place on April 24 between the top two candidates.

No candidate has won the French presidency in the first round of voting since the Fifth French Republic switched to universal suffrage for presidential elections.

(With input from agencies)