The French will vote on Sunday, July 7, for the second round of early legislative elections. A historic vote in which the extreme right seeks to obtain an absolute majority in the Assembly and to form a government after its victory in the first round (33.2% of the vote).
This unprecedented score for a legislative election opened the door to the National Rally coming to power, which would be a first in France since the Second World War, and a thunderbolt with repercussions extending far beyond the borders of France.
Key information to remember
⇒ Polling stations opened at 8am this morning
⇒ Voter turnout is still expected to be high
⇒ A total of 130 NFP and 80 Ensemble candidates withdrew between Sunday and Tuesday
8:15 a.m.
In the first round, the RN in the lead
Last Sunday, voters placed the RN and its allies from LR largely in the lead last Sunday, with 33.2% of the vote, ahead of the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP, 28.0%), and the presidential bloc Ensemble (20.0%).
3809 legislative results file
© / The Express
8h
Polling stations open for second round
Polling stations opened Sunday at 8:00 a.m. in mainland France for the second round of the legislative elections. French people can vote until 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. in major cities, when the first results will be announced.
7:50 a.m.
The mobilization promises to be as strong as ever
Voter turnout is still expected to be strong, with turnout expected to be at the same level as in the first round, when it reached 66.7%, a level never seen since the previous dissolution in 1997.
7:45 a.m.
Many withdrawals
But the campaign between the two rounds was marked by the withdrawal of many candidates from Ensemble and the NFP, in the name of a “republican front” reinvigorated by the concrete and tangible prospect of the nomination of RN president Jordan Bardella, 28, to Matignon.
A total of 130 NFP candidates and 80 Ensemble candidates withdrew between Sunday and Tuesday, reducing the number of three-way contests from 306 to 89 according to the Ipsos polling institute.