The first round of the legislative elections began on Saturday with the opening of the first polling stations overseas and in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
The first round of the highly suspenseful legislative elections has begun. The first polling stations opened this Saturday. In particular, in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon at 8 a.m. (12 p.m. in mainland France), the prefecture of this overseas collectivity in the North Atlantic told AFP.
Voters from Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, French Polynesia and those living on the American continent will also vote on Saturday. For most voters, those established in mainland France, voting will begin on Sunday at 8 a.m. France is hanging on the hypothesis of the arrival of the far right to power at the end of the second round on July 7.
Only three weeks after the dizziness of dissolution, the time for the first lessons is approaching, before the second round on July 7. Can the National Assembly be dominated for the first time in the Fifth Republic by the far right? Can RN president Jordan Bardella replace Gabriel Attal at Matignon? Can the left spring a surprise? In the absence of definitive answers, the first results expected from 8 p.m. on Sunday should make it possible to see things more clearly.
A very sharp increase in participation rate?
Pollsters and politicians expect a very sharp increase in participation compared to the 2022 legislative elections, for which 47.51% of voters turned out. This time, participation could reach or even exceed two-thirds of those registered.
A revival due in part to the potentially historic consequences of these legislative elections, which for the first time since 1997 will not be aligned with the presidential election.
Brice Teinturier, deputy CEO of Ipsos, identified “two dynamics” in front of journalists on Friday. “A dynamic of hope, left-wing voters say to themselves that suddenly, there could be an alternation (…) and this is even more the case among RN voters. And a driving force for mobilization which is negative politicization, fear, the fear aroused by the RN, and in part of the electorate also by La France Insoumise or the left-wing coalition,” the analyst explained.
Signs of the strong mobilization expected on June 30 and July 7: the number of proxies skyrocketed to exceed 2 million, and online voting open until Thursday to French people living abroad reached a record (410,000 votes against 250,000 in 2022).
