The courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris, where French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron was due to speak later on Sunday, was briefly evacuated after a suspect bag was found.

Police in the French capital said they made security checks of the area as a precaution and later added that the situation there had returned to normal.

Centrist Macron, who is tipped to beat the far right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in an election for president on Sunday, is due to address his supporters at the grounds of the Louvre in the evening after the result comes out.