Early legislative elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron began on Sunday, with over 49.5 million citizens called to the polls. The first round of voting could see the far right come to power for the first time through democratic means. In this election, citizens will elect their 577 deputies of the National Assembly. The second round will take place next Sunday, July 7.
The far-right National Rally (RN) currently leads polls with a voting intention of 36%, even more than the 31.4% obtained in the European elections on June 9, which prompted President Macron to call these elections. The New Popular Front (NFP), representing 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.
Jordan Bardella, president of the RN and candidate for prime minister, has been pushing for an absolute majority in order to have a free hand to apply his electoral program without hindrance. Bardella is only 28 years old and has been leading his party since he was just 21 years old. He has been working hard to appeal to voters who feel disenfranchised by traditional political parties and are looking for a change in leadership.
In this election, voters will elect 539 deputies from metropolitan France, as well as 27 from overseas territories in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Caribbean and 11 representing French people living abroad. However, it’s important to note that the result of the first round will provide a general picture of voter opinion but not necessarily an overall composition of the National Assembly as it’s extremely difficult to make predictions due to