Far-right seeks to gain power in France's parliamentary election

France holds a parliamentary run-off election on Sunday that will reconfigure the political landscape, with opinion polls forecasting the far-right National Rally (RN) will win the most votes but likely fall short of a majority.

Such an outcome could plunge the country into a chaotic hung parliament, severely denting the authority of President Emmanuel Macron. Equally, if the nationalist, eurosceptic RN did win a majority, the pro-business, pro-Europe president could find himself forced into a difficult "cohabitation."

Marine Le Pen's RN scored historic gains to win last Sunday's first-round vote, raising the specter of France's first far-right government since World War Two.

But after centrist and leftist parties joined forces over the past week in a bid to forge an anti-RN barricade, Le Pen's hopes of the RN winning an absolute majority in the 577-seat National Assembly seem less certain.

Polls suggest the RN will become the dominant legislative force, but fail to reach the 289-seat majority that Le Pen and her 28-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella believe would allow them to claim the prime minister's job and drag France sharply rightward.

Polls open at 8 am (0600 GMT) and close at 6 pm in towns and small cities and 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) in larger cities, with initial projections, expected the moment voting ends, based on partial counts from a sample of polling stations.

Much will depend on whether voters follow the calls of leading anti-RN alliances to block the far right from power or support far-right contenders.

Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament who led France's leftist ticket in last month's European vote, said he viewed Sunday's run-off as a simple referendum on whether "the Le Pen family takes over this country."

"France is on the cliff edge and we don't know if we're going to jump," he told France Inter radio last week.

A longtime pariah for many due to its history of racism and antisemitism, the RN has increased its support on the back of voter anger at Macron, straitened household budgets, and immigration concerns.

"French people have a real desire for change," Le Pen told TF1 TV on Wednesday, adding that she was "very confident" of securing a parliamentary majority.

Even if the RN falls short, it looks set to more than double the 89 seats it won in the 2022 legislative vote and become the dominant player in an unruly hung parliament that will make France hard to govern.

Such an outcome would risk policy paralysis until Macron's presidency ends in 2027 when Le Pen is expected to launch her fourth bid for France's top job.

Reuters