EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #ELECTION: French voters are going to the polls this morning in what is said to be the most important presidential elections in decades.

2. #TERRORISM: Members of the garda Special Detective Unit (SDU) are carrying out a number of surveillance operations on over 20 people they believe to be a potential threat to Ireland.

3. #PRISONER SWAP: The Islamist group Boko Haram has freed 82 Nigerian schoolgirls in exchange for a number fighters held by the Nigerian government.

4. #RESCUED: The Italian Coast Guard says that about 6,000 migrants trying to reach Europe have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea over the past 48 hours.

5. #PROTEST: A protest march against the Sisters of Charity owning the new national maternity hospital will take place in Dublin city today.

6. #GOING DUTCH: Ryanair has hit back at a Dutch tourism executive who accused the company of ‘destroying’ European cities.

7. #WICKLOW: A 75-year-old diver has stalled plans by a subsidiary of building materials group CRH – Ireland’s largest company – to fill a defunct, flooded quarry with waste material.

8. #SOCIAL PROTECTION: The Department of Social Protection is being criticised over the large number of people with disabilities are who denied payments, only to be allowed upon appeal.

9. #ALL THE MONEY: There were two winning tickets in the weekend lotto draw for a jackpot of just over €12.3m