Voting has begun for the legislative elections called early by President Emmanuel Macron

The first round of legislative elections, called early by President Emmanuel Macron, began on Sunday in polling stations, in an election that could see the far right come to power for the first time through democratic means.

More than 49.5 million citizens are called to the polls to elect their 577 deputies of the National Assembly. The second round will take place next Sunday, July 7.

The far-right National Rally (RN) leads polls with a voting intention of 36%, even more than the 31.4% obtained in the European elections on June 9, in which its victory prompted President Emmanuel Macron to call these elections.

The New Popular Front (NFP), which represents the left, has an average of 28.2% in the polls, while the Macronist bloc is further behind, with an average of 20.3%, a sharp drop compared to the elections two years ago.

The polls even point to the possibility of the RN obtaining an absolute majority in the second round, whose threshold is 289 deputies. In the 2022 elections, the RN obtained 88 deputies, in what was its best historical result.

The president of the RN and candidate for prime minister, Jordan Bardella, only 28 years old, has insistently asked the French to give him an absolute majority in order to have a free hand to be able to apply his electoral program without hindrance.

Voters will elect 539 deputies from metropolitan France, 27 from overseas territories in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Caribbean, as well as 11 representing French people living abroad.

The result of the first round will provide a general picture of voter opinion, but not necessarily of the overall composition of the National Assembly. It is extremely difficult to make predictions because of the complicated voting system and because parties will work between rounds to form alliances in some constituencies or to exit others.

In the past, such strategies helped keep far-right candidates out of power. But now support for Le Pen’s party has become widespread.

With information from EFE and Associated Press.