Protesters clash with police in Paris after French election vote result

Crowds of protesters clashed with police in Paris after early-stage Presidential election results suggested Marine Pen would progress to the final round of voting.

Tear-gas was fired by officers to disperse the demonstrators and riot police surrounded the area in the Place de Bastille.

Several hundred protesters threw bottles and fireworks, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

Dramatic pictures of the scene show riot police, armed with shields, confronting activists in the square.

Large crowds, some carrying anti-fascist banners, and lit flares can also be seen in the pictures that emerged online.

Three people were reportedly arrested as groups began to dismantle signs that surround the column in the middle of the famous square.

The crowds gathered before the publication of the first estimates of the presidential election first round.

Police were deployed in numbers and prevented traffic passing to the eastern-Paris square, the French newspaper said.

The final first-round result saw independent centrist Emmanuel Macron come top of the pile with 23.75 per cent of the vote.

And far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen was close behind with a 21.53 per cent share of the poll.

The result proved a seismic shift in the country’s politics.

Conservative Francois Fillon was eliminated from the presidential contest receiving 19.91 per cent of the vote, with Leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon coming fourth with 19.64 per cent.