French vote in legislative elections led by far-right

The French begin voting on Saturday and Sunday in the first round of legislative elections, with the far-right leading by a large margin over President Emmanuel Macron's coalition.

About 49 million voters were called to renew the National Assembly (Parliament) with all of its 577 representatives in elections whose second session will be held on July 7, and a coup may occur that will permanently change the French political scene, according to what the Agence France-Presse said.

Macron called for these early elections, announcing on June 9 the dissolution of the National Assembly, according to a decision he took hours after the far-right won the European elections in France, which caused a shock that shook the country.

It is expected to record heavy mobilization in these elections, the biggest bet on whether a national assembly dominated by the extreme right will emerge for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic.

The first results are expected to be announced at 8:00 pm on Sunday to dispel some of the uncertainty regarding the possibility of the leader of the National Rally party, Jordan Bardella (28 years old), winning to replace the leader of the outgoing majority, Gabriel Attal.

The dates for the first and second rounds of the upcoming elections in France have been set for June 30 and July 7.

The lightning election campaign ended at midnight on Friday, and candidates no longer have the right to make public statements to the media or travel on the ground until Sunday evening, and the results of opinion polls are prohibited from being published during this period.

Polling institutes and politicians expect turnout to rise to perhaps more than two-thirds of registered voters, a significant increase over the last legislative elections in 2022, when it was limited to 47.51%.

This expected turnout is due to several factors, most notably the potential historical consequences of these legislative elections, which are the first since 1997 not to be held simultaneously with the presidential vote.

Two polls conducted by Ifop and Odoxa, the results of which were released on Friday, gave the far right between 35 and 36.5 percent of the vote.

The New Popular Front coalition, which includes left-wing parties, led by France Insoumise (radical left), has between 27.5 and 29% of vote intentions, ahead of the Macronist camp, which the two polls give 20.5 to 21% of vote intentions.

Some opinion polls indicate that the National Rally and its allies are likely to win an absolute majority of 289 deputies or more.

However, unknown factors still dominate expectations, starting with the number of constituencies that will witness competition between three candidates in the second round, a number that is expected to increase by a large margin as well, and the number of candidates who will announce their withdrawal in this case in an effort to unify votes against the National Rally.

The presidential camp is facing the greatest amount of pressure in these elections, which essentially threatens it, according to French media.

On Thursday, the president pledged “the greatest possible clarity” about the line that must be adopted during the two sessions, at a time when many “Macronites” are calling for clear instructions to withdraw, and not to be led into the position of “neither a national gathering nor proud France.”