On Sunday, June 30, early elections to the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) are taking place in France. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call early elections on June 9.
Polling stations will open at 08:00 local time. They will generally remain open until 18:00. Some cities and departments have different opening hours. For example, in Paris, polling stations will remain open until 20:00. The results of the elections will likely be known late in the evening or at night.
Voters will elect 577 members of parliament. An absolute majority requires 289 seats. If a candidate wins a majority of votes in the first round with a turnout of over 25%, he or she will win a seat in parliament. Otherwise, a second round is called. In the history of elections in France, the first round has usually not been enough. The second round is scheduled for July 7.
According to polls, the far-right, conservative National Rally party under the leadership of Jordan Bardella (the founder of the party is Jean-Marie Le Pen) can get the largest number of seats in the French National Assembly. This party is tipped for almost 40% of the seats in the lower house of parliament. Earlier in June, the National Rally won the European Parliament elections in France.
Polls also show that the left-wing New Popular Front coalition could take second place in the elections. Polls predict that the Together coalition, which includes the Renaissance party founded by Macron and the Republicans party, will only take third place.