Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly dissolved the National Assembly after receiving a drubbing in European Parliament elections on 9 June.
French voters are going to the polls today to elect the 577 members of the National Assembly.
Stay tuned for the results of an election taking place against a background of surging support for the far-right – and the increasing unpopularity of centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
The National Assembly was last constituted in 2022, and terms normally last five years.
But Macron called snap elections on 9 June after getting a drubbing from voters in the European Parliament elections.
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally took over 31% of the EU vote, more than twice as much as Macron’s coalition managed.
Only a small fraction of lawmakers will be definitively elected by today’s vote. The first round is decisive only for candidates who gain over 50% of votes in constituencies with sufficient turnout, which is in practice quite rare.
And the final result can look very different. In 2022, Macron won just over 25% of votes cast in the first round, but ended up with 42% of the seats – finishing in first place, though losing his majority.
But today’s result will thin out the field, as only the most successful candidates in each constituency will proceed to the final round due next week.
And it will also give a sense of the scale of the public mood – and an early indication as to which party might get to appoint a Prime Minister and form a government.
This page will be updated after polls close at 8pm, and during the course of the evening.
