Tens of thousands of ballot boxes

paris - After a distorted terrorist attack, the security measures in France have increased further to the presidential elections. France goes to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president. A second and decisive round is on May 7th. Minister of the Interior Matthias Fekl has announced that 50,000 police officers and soldiers stand ready for the polling session.

The police held two rationalized Muslims in a Marseille apartment on Tuesday. In the house the suspects had concealed a weaponry hall. According to anti-terrorism prosecutor François Molins, the two are launching an attack somewhere in the coming days. It was not yet clear what the purpose of the attack would be. Over the last two years, more than 230 people have died in France by attacks by Islamic militants.

Despite the threat of terrorism, candidates continue their election campaign. In the first round, the polls predict a neck-to-neck race between the anti-European Marine Le Pen and the social-liberal candidate Emmanuel Macron, who is pro-European and for a stronger bond with Germany.

French media reported that the topics of security and terrorism play a more important role at the end of the campaign than before. 'A final of the election campaign under threat', wrote newspaper Libération. The newspaper Le Parisien noted that the election campaign has been spared until recently of the threat of terrorism, but the theme is now back on the agenda.

'The then highly criticized state of emergency has enabled the investigation that led to the arrest of the rationalized duo,' reported the regional newspaper L'Alsace. The state of emergency in France has been valid since 2015 and has been extended a few times.

In addition to Le Pen and Macron, Conservative François Fillon and the outstanding left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon are in the race to follow François Hollande as president. The other candidates seem to be out of control in advance.