STORY: :: France's Macron and far-right leader Le Pen cast their votes in the country's parliamentary election
:: June 30, 2024
:: Macron triggered the snap elections after Le Pen's party trounced his in June European elections
:: Le Touquet, France
:: Henin-Beaumont, France
Le Pen and her far-right National Rally (RN) party have taken center stage in France's parliamentary electoral campaign, after the RN trounced President Emmanuel Macron's party in the early June European elections, leading him to trigger the snap vote.
France is the closest it has been to having a far-right government since World War Two, with the anti-immigrant RN riding high in opinion polls ahead of the two-phase legislative election, whose second round is on July 7.
Macron will remain president after the election, but will have to pick a prime minister from whichever party or alliance can command a majority in the National Assembly, regardless of how divergent their policies are from his own.
