2024-07-07 17:10:13
At 5 p.m., according to Interior Ministry figures, some 59.71 percent of voters had turned out — the most at this stage of a legislative race since 1981, with three hours of voting to go.
President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections three years early after his troops were defeated in June’s European Parliament election – a new poll predicted Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National Party would become the largest party. in parliament.
The mood in France was tense, with 30,000 police officers deployed to deal with the unrest and voters worried about a potential electoral landslide that could change the political landscape.
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In the village of Rosheim, outside the eastern city of Strasbourg, a “sad” 72-year-old Antoine Schrameck said he feared France would see “a turning point in the history of the republic”.
And in Tourcoing, near the northeastern city of Lille, 66-year-old pensioner Laurence Abbad said he feared violence after the results were announced. “There’s so much stress, people are going crazy,” he said.
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The president is to meet Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and the leaders of the parties in the outgoing central coalition at the Elysee Palace while the election continues, sources in his camp told AFP.
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