Voting has begun in France for the high-stakes, second-round parliamentary election, with a surge in support for the left-wing alliance threatening recently re-elected President Emmanuel Macron’s hopes for an outright majority.
Voting began at 8 a.m. on Sunday and will end at 8 p.m. according to election sources. NUPES, a new left-wing alliance led by former Socialist Jean-Luc Melenchon, is challenging President Macro.
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As rampant inflation drives up the cost of living and sends shockwaves through the French political landscape, the revitalized left is fighting back.
With about 26% of the vote in the first round of voting last Sunday, the two sides were neck and neck. The initial field of candidates in nearly all 577 constituencies has been whittled down to two contestants who will face off in the second round.
Macron’s coalition hopes to win an outright majority of 289 seats to carry out tough reforms.
In April, Macron was re-elected to a second term, defeating his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen by a large margin.
Following the election of a president, French voters have traditionally used legislative elections a few weeks later to give their newly elected leader a parliamentary majority.
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