France braces for more protests as polling stations open this morning for second round parliamentary votes that are expected to be won by hard right Marine Le Pen's National Rally
France is preparing for more protesting ahead of the second round of historic parliamentary voting that will take place this morning and is expected to be won by hard-right Marine Le Pen's National Rally.
Voting began at 8:00am (6:00am GMT) and will continue until 6:00pm, or 8:00pm in major cities, when voting estimates will be released - with France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and President Emmanuel Macron spotted casting their votes earlier in the day.
It comes as images from Paris last night showed dozens of popular high street stores including Zara and Pull & Bear barricaded behind wooden boards and shutters amid growing fears of left-wing riots exploding on the streets after rioting began engulfing the city last week.
Several central areas within Paris are concerned with the possibility of protests erupting, including Rue de Rivoli, the Opera area, and the Champs-Elysees.
The French Ministry of the Interior announced the deployment of 30,000 police officers across France, including 5,000 in Paris, to deal with the potential unrest.
Last week, thousands of enraged voters set light to rubbish, smashed up shop windows, and launched fireworks after Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) steamed to victory in the first round of snap parliamentary elections, held on June 30.
Hordes of riot cops were unleashed across Paris, particularly in Place de la Republique, where police were seen clashing with protesters into the early hours of the morning.
The RN netted some 33 per cent of the vote, according to the Interior Ministry, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front alliance with 28 per cent - and incumbent president Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance lagging in a distant third on just 20 per cent.
Following the shocking results, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said politicians from across the spectrum had faced verbal and physical abuse - often while putting up campaign posters.
He told French broadcaster BFMTV that several of the attacks had been 'extremely serious' - with the three-week campaign overshadowed by violence that left some victims in hospital.
Ahead of Sunday's tense second round of voting, Darmanin confirmed there will be a greater police presence on the streets of Paris as he warned: 'Outbreaks of violence are to be feared,' adding cops will be dispatched 'so that the far left or the far right' do not create 'disorder'.
At least 30 suspects from 'extremely varied backgrounds' have been arrested so far - with RN candidates and left-wing politicians among those targeted.
It comes as 'hated' and 'unpopular' Macron was urged by his own party to keep out of the spotlight of his campaign trial when government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot was attacked on Wednesday.
Thevenot, a candidate for the centrist Ensemble Pour la Republique alliance led by Macron, said she and a deputy and a party activist were putting up election posters in Meudon near Paris when a group attacked them.
Thevenot's deputy and the party activist were both dashed to a hospital following the attack.
'The symbolic violence of words quickly was replaced by physical violence,' she told reporters while back on the campaign trail Thursday, adding the motive behind the attack was still under investigation.
Marie Dauchy, a RN candidate in Savoy, said she was assaulted Wednesday at a food market while campaigning and announced she was abandoning the race.
Her party's leader and three-time presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, said on X, formerly Twitter, that two men had 'cowardly' assaulted Dauchy.
Last week's post-vote protests saw bins uprooted with their contents littered across the tarmac as protesters flooded the streets waving banners and flares.
Young women trying to enjoy nights out in the city were forced to stand behind armoured cops who forced back the activists with batons and tear gas as firefighters were called in to douse the blazes set by protestors.
But today, as voting is underway, images from Paris have revealed centrist volunteers replacing campaign posters outside polling stations in a last ditch attempt to influence the vote from left to centre.
Images show a pair of volunteers plastering a 'One Clear Choice for Government' poster on to a board - which displays support for Macron's centrist alliance Ensemble pour la Republique, while attempting to warn other voters of the left-wing New Popular Front.
Photos of France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also emerged, showing Ensemble candidate arriving at a polling station in Vanves, ready to cast his ballot.
Amid the current anger surrounding President Macron, Attal has taken on the prominent role as the face of the presidential party.
Public sentiment against Macron was evident on June 17 in Val-de-Marne, where a passerby told Attal: 'You're fine. But you'll have to tell the president to shut his mouth'.
This interaction pushed Attal to further separate himself from the president and reiterate to the individual: 'You know, this is a legislative election, we are voting for the prime minister'.
Macron was spotted alongside his wife Brigitte at a polling station in Le Touquet, earlier this afternoon, where he greeted local residents before placing his vote.
The President of the Republic is set to arrive in Paris and the Élysée Palace, in the presence of leaders of the majority, including Prime Minister Attal, at 6:30pm to follow the election night, according to BFMTV.
The meeting is set to take place an hour-and-a-half before the announcement of the results of the second round of the early legislative elections.
Also pictured at the polling stations this morning was French far-right Reconquete! party leader Eric Zemmour and former French President Francois Hollande with his wife, French actress Julie Gayet.
By noon, the participation rate for the second round of early legislative elections was at around 26.63 per cent compared to the 25.90 per cent in the first round on June 30, according to Le Parisien.
By 5pm, the turnout for the second round was 59.71 per cent - the highest since 1981 which followed the election of Francoise Mitterrand to the Elysee.
Last week, turnout in the first round was 59.39 per cent at the same time.
If the far-right outfit scoop an absolute majority after the second round of voting today, Macron will be forced to appoint 28-year-old RN President Jordan Bardella as his Prime Minister.
An RN victory would also represent the first time the far-right takes the reins of power in France since the Nazi occupation during WWII.
The last far-right leaders of France were Philippe Pétai and his prime minister, Pierre Laval, who headed the Vichy regime that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
A total of 577 constituencies are being decided in the snap election, one for each seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
A total of 76 lawmakers were elected in the first round - including 39 representing the RN and its allies - leaving 501 sets up for grabs in the run-off today.
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