Judgement day in EU referendum
Polling staions across the UK opened this morning for the country's in/out EU referendum following an intense and closely fought campaign.
Many expats living in France will have already voted by post or proxy, with Connexion calculating that record numbers of UK citizens living overseas have registered with the Electoral Commission to have their say.
We calculated that more than 300,000 expats are registered to vote in the referendum, compared to 106,000 who were able to have their say in last year's General Election.That figure represents about 10% of the estimated 3million Britons worldwide who were eligible to register.
At least another million have been excluded from voting due to the ‘15-year rule’, which bans long-term expats from a vote and has been the subject of a legal challenge in the run-up to today's polls.
Expat voters have swelled the ranks of the record 46.5million people who are signed-up to answer the question: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?.
Polling stations will close at 11pm France time.
Regional counts will be revealed overnight, but the final result is not expected until 'about breakfast time' on Friday. Prime Minister David Cameron will address the nation shortly afterwards.
Right up to the wire, polls have suggested that the result is too close to call. Final-day surveys for national media in the UK were divided, with two suggesting Remain would win, and two giving the lead to Leave. About 10% of voters remain undecided or will not vote, according to most polls.
EU leaders have warned there will be no turning back from a vote to quit the bloc.
"Out is out," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in Brussels, dismissing any chances of a post-vote renegotiation of membership terms; while President Francois Hollande has said an exit would be 'irreversible'.
