France votes in 'seismic' election

France votes in legislative elections Sunday that will be decisive in determining its political future and could see the far right become the largest party in parliament for the first time.

Centrist President Emmanuel Macron called the snap elections three years ahead of time after his forces were trounced in June's legislative elections, a gamble which many observers believe backfired.

After coming out on top in the June 30 first round of the polls, the far right of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was confident her National Rally (RN) could win an absolute majority in parliament and crown her protege and party leader Jordan Bardella, 28, as prime minister.

But the last week saw more than 200 tactical-voting pacts between centre and left wing candidates in seats to prevent the RN winning in a return of the anti-far right "Republican Front" first summoned when Marine Le Pen's father Jean-Marie faced Jacques Chirac in the run-off of 2002 presidential elections.

This left the latest polls projecting that the RN would fall well short of the 289 seats needed for an outright majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, while still being the largest party in parliament.

'Catastrophic'

Such an outcome could allow Macron to possibly build a broad coalition against the RN and keep Gabriel Attal as prime minister on a caretaker basis. But it could also herald a long period of paralysed politics in France, just as it prepares to host the Olympics from July 26.

"Today the danger is a majority dominated by the extreme right and that would be catastrophic," Attal said in a final pre-election interview with French television on Friday.

Many in France remain baffled over why Macron...