French election 2024 live: Voting under way in seismic poll as far right aims to become dominant force in national assembly

“The individual freedoms, tolerance and respect for others is what at stake today,” Thomas Bertrand, a 45-year-old voter who works in advertising, told the AP.

Pierre Lubin, a 45-year-old business manager, was worried about whether the polls would produce an effective government. “This is a concern for us,” Lubin said. “Will it be a technical government or a coalition government made up of [different] political forces?”

Valerie Dodeman, a 55-year-old legal expert, said she is pessimistic about the future. “No matter what happens, I think this election will leave people disgruntled on all sides,” Dodeman said.

Outside Paris, Frederic Maillard, a doctor from the central town of Tours said, “I’m mad at the government and in particular at the president that they have taken this irresponsible risk.”

Ranaivoatisan Voahirana, who works in the medical sector, said she voted for the government’s candidate but was “almost certain” the National Rally would win.

“People won’t bother to hide their racism any more”, she said.

Frederic Wallet, a construction worker, said he would submit an empty ballot as he couldn’t identify with any of the choices on offer. “Good luck France, it will be a mess,” he said.

‘Our backs are against the wall’: French grassroots mobilise against far right.

Activist groups have sprung up across the country in efforts to defeat National Rally in second round of elections.

“This is the country we love. It’s built us up; it’s made us who we are,” said Akli Alliouat, one of the organisers. “And I find it hard to accept that this France of ours is tipping into hatred, contempt and inequality.”

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French President Emmanuel Macron has voted in high-stakes legislative elections that could force him to share power with the rising far right.

Macron called the surprise vote after the anti-immigration, nationalist National Rally made huge gains in the 9 June European elections, taking a huge gamble that French voters would block the far-right party as they always have in the past.

But the National Rally instead won a larger share than ever in the first round on June 30, and its leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the party an absolute majority in Round 2.

The elections could leave France with its first far-right government since the Nazi occupation in the second world war if the National Rally wins an absolute majority and its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella becomes prime minister.

Macron cast his ballot in the seaside resort town of La Touquet, along with his wife, Brigitte. Prime minister Gabriel Attal cast his ballot in the Paris suburb of Vanves Sunday morning.

Le Pen is not voting, because her district in northern France is not holding a second round after she won the seat outright last week.

Across France, 76 other candidates secured seats in the first round, including 39 from her National Rally and 32 from the leftist New Popular Front alliance. Two candidates from Macron’s centrists list also won their seats in the first round.

The elections wrap up Sunday at 8 pm (6pm GMT) in mainland France and on the island of Corsica. Initial polling projections are expected Sunday night, with early official results expected late Sunday and early Monday.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second round of France’s parliamentary election.

Voter turnout in France’s parliamentary run-off election on Sunday rose sharply from the last time in 2022, in a ballot that could see the far-right National Rally (RN) emerge as the strongest force.

Turnout stood at 26.3% by around noon (10am GMT), up from 18.99% during the second voting round in 2022, the interior ministry said, highlighting the population’s extreme interest in an election that has highlighted polarised views in France. It was the highest midday turnout level since 1981, pollster Harris Interactive and Ipsos said.

Voting closes at 6pm (4pm GMT) in towns and small cities and 8pm (6pm GMT) in bigger cities. Pollsters will deliver initial projections based on early counts from a sample of voting stations at 8pm.

Although the RN is expected to win the most seats in the National Assembly, the latest opinion polls indicated it may fall short of an absolute majority that would outright hand Marine Le Pen’s 28-year-old protege Jordan Bardella the prime minister’s job.

A hung parliament would severely dent President Emmanuel Macron’s authority and herald a prolonged period of instability and policy deadlock in the euro zone’s second-biggest economy.

Should the nationalist, Eurosceptic RN secure a majority, it would usher in France’s first far-right government since the second world war and send shock waves through the European Union at a time populist parties are strengthening support across the continent.

Here’s what you need to know about the election so far:

• French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble in dissolving parliament and calling for the elections after his centrists were trounced in European elections on 9 June.

• The first round on 30 June saw the largest gains ever for the anti-immigration, nationalist National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen. Sunday’s vote determines which party controls the National Assembly and who will be prime minister. If support is further eroded for Macron’s weak centrist majority, he will be forced to share power with parties opposed to most of his pro-business, pro-European Union policies.

• Opposition parties made hurried deals ahead of Sunday’s second round of voting to try to block a landslide victory for Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in the legislative elections, as she said her party would lead the government only if it won an absolute majority – or close to it.

• An unprecedented number of candidates who qualified for Round 2 from the left-wing alliance of the New Popular Front and from President Emmanuel Macron’s weakened centrists have stepped aside to favor the candidate most likely to win against a National Rally opponent. According to a count by French newspaper Le Monde, 218 candidates who were supposed to compete in the second round have pulled out. Of those, 130 were on the left, and 82 came from the Macron-led centrist alliance Ensemble.

• Racism and antisemitism have marred the electoral campaign, along with Russian cybercampaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported being physically attacked – highly unusual for France. Some luxury boutiques along the Champs Elysees boulevard, including the Louis Vuitton store, barricaded windows and Darmanin said he was deploying 30,000 police amid concerns of violent protests should the far-right win.

• A longtime pariah for many due to its history of racism and antisemitism, the RN has broadened its support beyond its traditional base along the Mediterranean coast and the deindustrialised north, tapping into voter anger at Macron over straitened household budgets, security, and immigration worries. “French people have a real desire for change,” Le Pen told TF1 TV on Wednesday.