PARIS — French voters are heading to the polls for the first round of high-stakes legislative elections, with an unusually high turnout of 59% and three hours before polls close on Sunday.
That is 20 percentage points more than the turnout at the same time in the last first round of 2022.
President Emmanuel Macron called the surprise vote just three weeks ago after European elections showed a collapse in support for his centrist party and a sharp rise for the far-right National Rally party.
Two rounds of voting will determine who will be prime minister and which party will control the lower house of the French parliament, potentially putting France in uncharted political territory if Macron must share power with a party hostile to most of his policies.
Some pollsters suggest that high turnout could moderate the result of the far-right National Rally party, possibly indicating that voters went the extra mile to cast their ballot out of fear it might win.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s previous story follows below.
Voters across mainland France cast their ballots on Sunday in the first round of early parliamentary elections That could put the government in the hands of far-right nationalist parties for the first time since the Nazi era.
The two-round elections that will conclude on July 7 could affect European financial markets. Western support for Ukraine and the management of France nuclear arsenal and global military force.
Many French voters are frustrated by inflation and other economic concerns, as well as the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, seen as arrogant and out of touch with their lives. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally party has capitalized on that discontent, especially through online platforms like TikTok, and led pre-election opinion polls.
A new left coalition, the New Popular Front, also poses a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist Together for the Republic alliance. It includes the French socialists and communists, the greens and the far-left France Insoumise party and promises reverse unpopular pension reform law that raised the retirement age to 64 yearsamong other economic reforms.
There are 49.5 million registered voters who will elect the 577 members of the National Assembly, the influential lower house of the French parliament.
Turnout at midday on Sunday was 25.9% according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, higher than the 18.43% at midday during the 2022 legislative elections. The vote took place during the traditional first week of summer holidays in France, and absentee ballot requests were at least five times higher than in 2022.
The first electoral projections were expected for 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT), when the final polling stations close. The first official results were expected on Sunday.
Macron voted in Le Touquet, a seaside resort in northern France. Le Pen also voted in the north, the stronghold of his party, but in the working-class town of Hennin-Beaumont.
Voters in Paris had on their minds issues ranging from immigration to the rising cost of living, as the country has become increasingly divided between far-right and far-left blocs, with a deeply unpopular and weakened president in the political center. The campaign was marred by growing hate speech.
“People don’t like what’s been happening,” said Cynthia Justine, 44. “People feel like they have lost a lot in recent years. People are angry. “I’m angry.” She added that with “growing hate speech,” it was necessary to express frustrations with those who hold and seek power.
She said it was important to vote as a woman, since women have not always had that right. And “because I am a black woman, it is even more important. There is a lot at stake on this day.”
Macron called early elections after his party was defeated in the European Parliament elections at the beginning of June by the National Rally, which has historical links to racism and anti-Semitism and is hostile towards France’s Muslim community. It also has historical ties to Russia.
Macron’s call was a bold bet that French voters who were complacent in the European elections would be forced to vote for moderate forces in national elections to keep the far-right out of power.
Instead, pre-election polls suggested that the National Rally is gaining support and has a chance of winning a parliamentary majority. In that scenario, Macron would be expected to name National Rally president Jordan Bardella, 28, as prime minister in an awkward power-sharing system known as “cohabitation.”
While Macron has said he will not resign before his presidential term expires in 2027, coexistence would weaken him at home and on the world stage.
One 64-year-old voter, Philippe Lempereur, expressed fatigue with politicians from the left, right and center and what he called their inability to work together on issues such as ensuring people have shelter and enough food. “We vote by default, for the least worst option,” he said. “I would rather vote than do nothing.”
The results of the first round will give an idea of voter sentiment, but not necessarily the overall composition of the next National Assembly. Predictions are difficult due to the complicated voting system, and because the parties will work between rounds to make alliances in some districts or withdraw from others.
In the past, such maneuvers have helped keep far-right candidates out of power. But support for Le Pen’s party has spread widely.
Bardella, who has no government experienceHe says he would use the prime minister’s powers to stop Macron from continuing to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine for the war with Russia.
The National Rally has also questioned the right to citizenship of people born in France and wants to restrict the rights of French citizens with dual nationality. Critics say this undermines human rights and is a threat to France’s democratic ideals.
Meanwhile, huge public spending The promises of the National Rally and especially the left-wing coalition have shaken markets and raised concerns about France’s heavy debt. already criticized by EU control bodies.
In the restive French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, polls closed earlier due to a Curfew that the authorities have extended Until the 8th of July. Violence there broke out last month leaving nine people dead, due to the Macron government’s attempts to amend the French Constitution and change voting lists, which the indigenous Kanaks feared would further marginalize them. They have long sought freedom from France.
Voters from other French overseas territories (Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and French Polynesia) and those voting in offices opened by embassies and consular offices throughout the Americas cast their ballots Saturday. .
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Surk contributed from Nice, France. Diane Jeantet contributed from Lens, France.
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An earlier version was corrected to say that Macron voted in Le Touquet instead of Paris.
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