French voters head to the polls this weekend for the first round of a race that’s been described as everything from “unprecedented” to “a bit bonkers.”

That’s because of the eleven candidates running, there is no real clear frontrunner. The latest polls put the leading four candidates within a few percentage points of one another. Thirty percent of voters are still undecided. 

The world is watching to see if far-right populist Marine Le Pen will make the cut. Le Pen is the only woman in the race and has presented herself as the candidate who can defend French women. 

For more on the heated race we turn to Guillaume Labat, executive director of recruitment at YER USA and a board member of the organization French in Chicago.