French Presidential Elections: At a glance: How the French election works

France holds the first round of its presidential elections nationwide tomorrow, Sunday, which — provided no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote — will be followed by a second and final round on May 6. Here is how the first round works and what’s at stake:

There are ten candidates on the first round ballot paper.

The choice that French people make will affect not only France, Europe’s second largest economy, but is likely to also have a profound impact on the European Union and its attempts to manage the eurozone debt crisis.

Polling stations in municipal buildings around the country will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. In some urban areas polls remain open until 8 p.m.

French electoral law outlaws any publication of voting estimates before all polls close at eight. The idea is that those voting late should not be influenced by knowing the likely outcome.

The Paris prosecutor’s office this week said that they’ll slap transgressors who publish the results before 8 p.m. with a fine of up to (EURO)75,000 ($98,000).