The French will vote for the first time today (Sunday) in a parliamentary election that will take control of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally Party (RN).
Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its third year, has seen a sharp rise in support for anti-immigration and Eurosceptic parties, and energy and food prices are high.
The first round of elections in mainland France will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end 12 hours later, with results expected. Overseas voters have voted, with 49 million French people eligible to vote, including those living abroad.
Elections for the 577 seats in the National Assembly took place in two phases. The shape of the new assembly will be known a week later, after the second round on July 7.
Most opinion polls show the RN will win the most seats in Parliament, the lower house of the House of Representatives, but it is not yet clear whether the party will win an outright majority.
The highest turnout is expected, with final polls placing the RN between 35% and 37%, 27.5-29% for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, and 20%-21% for Macron’s center camp.
If the RN wins an absolute majority, party leader Jordan Bardella, a 28-year-old Le Pen protégé with no government experience, could become prime minister in a tense “coexistence” with Macron.
A government source told AFP on Monday that Macron planned to call a cabinet meeting to determine the next course of action.
France is heading into a year of political turmoil and confusion with a hung parliament, said Mujtaba Rahman, head of Europe at risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
“There is no precedent for such a challenge in recent French politics,” Rahman said.
