Paris set to elect first female mayor

Two women candidates vie for top post in French capital in an election dominated by economic and security issues.

Parisians look set to elect their first female mayor on Sunday, as French voters go to the polls for the first round of local elections.

The two leading candidates in the capital are women.

The socialist deputy mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is considered a frontrunner in the race. UMP candidate and protegee of the former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, is contesting the poll for the conservatives. 

The local polls are seen as France’s first major electoral test since Francois Hollande became president.

The campaign has been dominated by housing, the economy and security.

Al Jazeera’s Emma Hayward reports from Paris.

Source: Al Jazeera