Topless Femen protesters caused chaos at the polling station where Marine Le Pen has cast her vote during the first round of the 2017 French elections.

Trouble started when women jumped out of a car just before Marine Le Pen voted at Hénin-Beaumont, in north-western France.

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Police tried to subdue dozens of demonstrators who had "Team Marine" daubed across their bare chests. The women wore masks of Le Pen, US President Donald Trump and Russian president Putin.

Scuffles broke out as two topless women in Le Pen face masks chanted: "Marine, president".

The feminist activist group recently posted on Facebook: "Nothing in Marine Le Pen's programme promotes the emancipation of women. No proposal is made to further the equality of the sexes."

Femen also attacked Le Pen's refusal to wear a headscarf to meet a Sunni Muslim cleric from Lebanon as a "media stunt".

Police made several arrests and led away the protestors in handcuffs. Police and security staff moved swiftly to bundle them into police vans, reported AP.

There were claims that Jacob Khrist, a photographer with agency Hans Lucas was arrested while taking pictures of the chaotic scenes, according to AFP. The agency said on Facebook: "On this election day, professional photographer Jacob Khrist was violently arrested in Hénin-Beaumont while he was doing his job."

Le Pen cast her vote without any further problems and then greeted members of the polling station. El Espanol reported that the Front National (FN) leader is expected to spend the day with her family and attend an election party scheduled in Hénin-Beaumont.

The feminist group have targeted Le Pen previously. Femen protestors disrupted a meeting of the candidate for FN on 18 April.

A clothed demonstrator went on stage where Le Pen was giving a speech with a bouquet of flowers while another Femen activist shouted: "Marine, pretend feminist!"

Both women were unceremoniously removed by the NF's security service.

A statement from one of the unnamed protestors was posted on the group's Twitter account saying she had been beaten up by the security team.

"I was taken backstage and a member of the security service hit me in the face," she said. "He then put me on flat on my stomach and tied my hands with rope.

"After that, a group of about 15 people arrived they took my papers (ID) and took photos of my chest while calling me a whore".

Marine Le Pen