French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced he was dissolving parliament and called snap legislative elections after the far-right trounced his centrist alliance in EU polls.
The first round of elections for the lower house National Assembly will take place on 30 June, with the second round on 7 July.
Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN) party, earlier on Sunday urged Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call legislative elections after the president's alliance suffered a heavy defeat in European elections.
"The president cannot remain deaf to the message given by the French," Bardella said. "We request that he takes note of this new political situation and goes back to the French people and organises new legislative elections."
Voters in France’s overseas departments cast their ballots on Saturday along with citizens voting in French embassies and consulates abroad.
This year's vote sees an increase of two seats on France’s EU electoral roll compared to the 2019 elections. The total number of European Parliament members has been increased to 720, – up from the current 705 – due to the UK’s departure from the European Union in 2020.
Voting across the bloc began on Thursday in the Netherlands, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday, with the rest of the EU's member states casting their ballots over the weekend.
Who's eligible?
To be eligible to vote, you must be French, at least 18 years old and be registered on the electoral roll. European citizens living in France may also take part.
According to Eurostat, there are just under 50 million eligible voters in France – the second highest behind Germany which has almost 65 million on their EU electoral roll.
A national list of 81 candidates was put forward by French political parties and groupings. However, all lists must comply with one essential rule: gender parity.
If the head of the list is a woman, the second on the list must be a man. If this essential rule is not respected, the offending political group will be hit with heavy financial penalties.
Listen to these first-time voters give their reasons why they are voting in this week's European elections.
— European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) June 6, 2024
#UseYourVote or others will decide for you 🗳️ #EUelections2024 pic.twitter.com/SLduE9VBFX
Previous vote
In the last European elections in 2019, two lists had a strong lead in France: the far-right National Rally at 23 percent and Macron’s La République en marche – now rebranded Renaissance – and its centrist MoDem allies at 22.5 percent.
They both received the same number of seats – 23 each.
After the two main contenders, the French Greens (EELV) came third with 13.5 percent of the vote – which was better than expected – but still short of its 2009 record.
The other lists failed to achieve the 5 percent threshold of the vote needed to win elected office.
Turnout, however, rose to over 50 percent – its highest level since 1994.
More generally, at the European Parliament level, it was the centre-right EPP – where French Republicans are aligned – that came out on top with 182 seats.
Polling stations are expected to start closing across France from 6pm (8pm in Paris) this Sunday evening.
