French voters will go to polling stations on Sunday for the first round of choosing representatives for the lower house, the National Assembly.
President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the parliament and called a snap election following the defeat earlier this month of his centrist coalition to the far-right National Rally in the European Union’s parliamentary elections.
Macron’s party and its coalition partners, the National Rally and the newly formed leftist New Popular Front alliance, are vying for votes.
The National Rally is expected to take the lead. It supports a nationalistic policy and tighter regulations on immigration. It’s been saying that it is ready to govern the country.
Macron asserts that a government under the National Rally would cause a national crisis in France.
A public opinion poll released on Friday suggests that the National Rally and candidates with ties to the party could win as many as 265 seats, or triple its number before the election.
The survey shows that the New Popular Front alliance could win as many as 200 seats to become the second largest force in the lower house.
Macron’s centrist coalition may end up with 100 seats at most, losing more than half of its seats.
The results of the first round will come in on Sunday evening and the second round will be held on July 7.