France holds parliamentary election in vital test for Macron
PARIS (AP) — French voters were choosing lawmakers in a parliamentary election Sunday as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to secure his centrist majority, which is under growing threat from a new leftist coalition.
More than 6,000 candidates, ranging from 18 to 92, were running for 577 seats in the National Assembly in the first round of the election. Those winning more than 50% of the vote will be elected on Sunday evening. In other cases, up to four candidates who get at least 12.5% support will advance to the decisive second round on June 19.
Consumer concerns about rising inflation have dominated the campaign but still voter enthusiasm has been muted. That was reflected in Sunday’s turnout figure, which showed just over 39% of France’s 48.7 million voters had cast ballots by 5 p.m., lower than the turnout five years ago.
Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who hopes the election may vault him into the prime minister’s post, was among only a trickle of voters as he cast his ballot in Marseille, a southern port city.
https://apnews.com/article/macron-france-business-presidential-elections-1d135bcaf3cd569268434fd24f33cdd7