Voting underway in France's snap parliamentary elections

Voting got underway in mainland France in the first round of snap parliamentary elections, with Marine Le Pen's anti-immigrant and eurosceptic far-right party eyeing power in a historic first.

Polling stations opened on Sunday at 0600 GMT, after voters in France's overseas territories cast ballots earlier in the weekend.

The outcome of the two-round election, which will wrap up on July 7, could impact European financial markets, Western support for Ukraine and how France’s nuclear arsenal and global military force are managed.

Many French voters are frustrated about inflation and economic concerns, as well as President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally party has tapped and fueled that discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok, and dominated all pre-election opinion polls.

A new coalition on the left, the New Popular Front, is also posing a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance Together for the Republic.

After a campaign marred by rising hate speech, voting began early in France’s overseas territories, and the first polling projections are expected at 1800 GMT, when the final polling stations close, and early official results are expected later Sunday night.

Macron called the early election after his party was trounced in the European Parliament election earlier in June by the National Rally, which has historic ties to racism and antisemitism and is hostile toward France’s Muslim community. It was an audacious gamble that French voters who were complacent about the European Union election would be jolted into turning out for moderate forces in a national election to keep the far right out of power.

'Cohabitation'

Instead, preelection polls suggest that the National Rally is gaining support and has a chance at winning a parliamentary majority. In that scenario, Macron would be expected to name 28-year-old National Rally President Jordan Bardella as prime minister in an awkward power-sharing system known as "cohabitation."

While Macron has said he won’t step down before his presidential term expires in 2027, cohabitation would weaken him at home and on the world stage.

The results of the first round will give a picture of overall voter sentiment, but not necessarily of the overall makeup of the next National Assembly. Predictions are extremely difficult because of the complicated voting system, and because parties will work between the two rounds to make alliances in some constituencies or pull out of others.

In the past, such tactical manoeuvres helped keep far-right candidates from power. But now support for Le Pen's party has spread deep and wide.

The party has also questioned the right to citizenship for people born in France and wants to curtail the rights of French citizens with dual nationality. Critics say this undermines fundamental human rights and is a threat to France's democratic ideals.

Meanwhile, huge public spending promises by the National Rally and especially the left-wing coalition have shaken markets and ignited worries about France's heavy debt, already criticised by EU watchdogs.