Electoral participation in France at 5:00 p.m. is close to 60%, 19 points more than in 2022

Participation in the first round of the French legislative elections reached 59.39% at 5:00 p.m.thus confirming its strong progress compared to 2022, when it was in 39.4% at the same timejust like reported the Ministry of the Interior.

French voter turnout in the first round of parliamentary elections is estimated to be will be the highest since 1986.

In the first round of the 2022 elections the participation was only 47.51% and voting intention polls have suggested that it could be reached today around 64-66% due to the sharp increase in interest from the French.

Election day is proceeding normally so far and the main political leaders had already cast their votes before midday.

The earliest riser was Manuel Bombardcoordinator of the leftist The Rebellious France (LFI), who cast their vote just after 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) in Marseille (south).

Just a couple of minutes later he did it the president of the far-right National Rally (RN) and favourite in all polls to be the next prime minister, Jordan Bardellawho voted electronically in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine), on the outskirts of Paris.

Around 11:30 (09:30 GMT) the current prime minister, Gabriel Attal, voted in Vanves (also in the Hauts-de-Seine department), and the former socialist president Françoise Hollandewho is a candidate for deputy in Corrèze.

Shortly before, former Prime Minister and Macron heavyweight Édouard Philippe had done so in Le Havre, the northern city of which he is mayor, and Éric Ciotti, leader of the conservative party Les Républicains, who has personally allied himself with the RN against the majority of his party, and who voted in Nice (south-east).

Le Pen and Macron

And just before noon Marine Le Pen cast her votethe leader of the RNwho did so in his electoral fiefdom of Henin-Beaumont, in the north, next to the Belgian border.

One of the latest was the president Emmanuel Macronwho, together with his wife Brigitte Macron, cast his vote in the small coastal town of Le Touquet (north).

Macron and his wife, who have lived there since 2001, went to vote at a table located in the Congress Palace while a considerable number of neighbours and curious onlookers watched from nearby.

As is usual in French elections, None of the candidates made any statements to the press..