By Nur Asena Erturk
The turnout in the second round of legislative elections in France on Sunday was 26.63% at midday, according to the Interior Ministry.
This turnout is much higher than that in the 2022 elections at the same hour, which was 18.99%, and in the first round last week, which was 25.9% at midday.
More than 43 million registered voters headed to the polling stations as of 8 a.m. (0600GMT) to elect the remaining 501 members of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament, for a five-year term as the country finds itself at a crucial political crossroads.
The first round of the elections took place on June 30 with a turnout of over 65% and over 49 million voters cast ballots.
Some 76 candidates were elected in the first round for the National Assembly that has a total of 577 seats. The second round is not organized in those constituencies.
The far-right National Rally (RN) got 29.26% of the vote by itself (37 seats), a rate that rises to over 33% when combined with its allies, according to official election results.
The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) got 28.06% (32 seats), and the centrist Together for the Republic alliance backed by President Emmanuel Macron finished third with slightly over 20.04% (two seats).
A political party or alliance needs at least 289 seats to secure a majority in the National Assembly.
Macron dissolved parliament and announced snap elections after the RN swept more than 31% of the vote in the European Parliament elections on June 9, defeating his centrist bloc.