France votes in second round of parliamentary polls as far right eyes power
Al Jazeera
Opinion polls have forecast the far-right National Rally will win the most votes but likely fall short of a majority.
Voting has opened for France’s parliamentary run-off election, which will be decisive in determining its political future that might see the far right become the largest party in parliament for the first time.
Voting began at 8am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday and will close between 6pm (16:00 GMT) in rural areas and 8pm (18:00) in big cities. About 30,000 police, including 5,000 in Paris, have been deployed across the country ahead of the voting.
The elections could leave France with its first far-right government since the Nazi occupation during the World War II if the National Rally wins, and its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella becomes prime minister.
The party came out on top in the previous week’s first-round voting, followed by a coalition of center-left, hard-left and Green parties. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance came in the third place.
Macron called the snap elections three years in advance after his political alliance was trounced in June’s European Parliament elections, a gamble which many observers believe backfired.