The polls in the parliamentary elections in France are closed. French voters turned out in large numbers for the second round of elections. The leftist New People’s Front (NFP) alliance is leading, seemingly halting the rise of the far right, exit polls have shown.
According to projections based on Ifop estimates, the NFP could win 180 to 215 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together for the Republic alliance came in second with 150 to 180 seats, while Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN), which celebrated victory in the first round, will get 120 to 150 seats.
The National Assembly has a total of 577 parliamentary seats, and it is predicted that none of these three alliances will have an absolute majority of 289 seats.
More than 43 million registered voters had the right to vote in the second round of elections for the remaining 501 members of the National Assembly for a five-year term.
The first round was held on June 30 with more than 49 million voters, and 76 candidates were elected. The second round was not held in those constituencies.
Ifop estimated turnout at 67.5 percent at 8 p.m.
The first round of elections was held on June 30 with a turnout of more than 65 percent, when more than 49 million voters cast their ballots. RN won 29.26 percent of the vote, rising to more than 33 percent combined with allies, according to official election results. The NFP got 28.06 percent, and Zajedno za Republika about 20.04 percent.
French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and announced early elections after the RN won more than 31 percent of the vote in the June 9 European Parliament elections, AA writes.
