The French are voting this Sunday second round of legislative electionsin which they will decide the extent of the victory of the far-right National Group (RN) Marine Le Pen and her candidate Jordan Bardella.

Polling stations They opened at 8:00 am local time. and they will close at 6:00 PM in small towns, 7:00 PM in medium-sized towns and 8:00 PM in large cities.

In this second round, the following will be elected: 501 deputies in individual competitions in each district, after 76 candidates had already managed to be elected in the first round on Sunday, June 30, by receiving at least 50% of the votes.

The far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies have achieved comfortable victory in the first round with 33.3% of the vote and 39 deputies have already been elected, compared to 28% for the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) (31 seats) and the centre-right Macronist bloc (20% and two deputies).

This week, more than 200 Macronist and leftist candidates have withdrawn from the second round. so that another candidate who is better placed would have a better chance to win the place from a far-right rival.

This reduced the number of districts in which three candidates would be determined. from 306 to 89, in addition to two others with four applicants.

There will be others 409 traditional duels between two candidates and in one district there is only one candidate after his opponent withdrew his candidacy.

Predictions for places in the second round They agree that the far right will win. and, of course, this is the best result in history, but far from the absolute majority that seemed possible in the first round.

Even the lowest range of projections is in the RN and the highest in the left could have left both blocks very closeaccording to demographic companies.

Le Pen’s party will gain between 170 and 230 deputies. That’s a far cry from the 289 that would make up the vast majority, according to the combined forecast ranges released Friday.

Left will have from 155 to 192 seats, while the Macronist bloc will remain at 118-150. The conservative party Los Republicanos (LR) will be further ahead with a range of 35 to 67 seats.

New forecasts based on partial results and exit polls will be released at 18:00 GMT. immediately after the closing of polling stations in major cities. Participation in the first round was very high – 66.71% (two years ago it was only 48.70 in the first and 42.64% in the second).

High motivation of the electorate and calls for mobilization from political parties can make Today’s participation also exceeds 60%, according to polls.

The likely lack of an absolute majority and the expected complex composition of the National Assembly could make governing France difficult.especially in a country where there is no tradition of coalitions.

Political leaders voted

Several French political leaders voted this morning in the second round of legislative elections in which This is an outstanding participation so far.

First Minister, Gabriel Attal, He was the earliest, voting at exactly 10:00 a.m. in Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine department), where he is seeking to renew his seat in the 10th electoral district.

Former Socialist President François Hollande (2012–17), He did so at 11:22 in Tulle, in the Corrèze department (centre), where he is a candidate after returning to active politics for these elections.

I voted before Eric Ciotti, The president of the conservative party The Republicans (LR), although he clashed with the party leadership over his personal alliance with the far-right Marine Le Pen, voted in the city of Nice (south-east), where he came first in the first round for his re-election to the seat he has held since 2008.

The previous prime minister, Elizabeth Bourne, She voted in Vire (Normandy, northwest) shortly after 11:00, where she is a candidate to renew her seat.