French voters on Sunday morning turned out in record numbers in the first round of a high-stakes snap election that could usher in a far-right government and shake the EU to its core.
At noon local time, 25.9 per cent of voters had already cast their ballot, compared with 18.43 per cent in 2022 — the highest turnout in more than four decades, according to Ipsos researcher Mathieu Gallard. Voter participation is a key factor in this election because it will help determine how many of President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble candidates qualify for next week’s final round of voting.
Macron called for the unexpected legislative poll earlier this month after losing European parliamentary elections to the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) by a wide margin.