Decisive round of legislative elections kicks off in France

The second and decisive round of France's snap legislative elections kicked off Sunday in Metropolitan France for voters to elect the remaining 501 members of the 577-seat French National Assembly, Xinhua reported

According to the results published by the French Interior Ministry, the French far-right wing party National Rally (RN) was leading the first round of the elections held on June 30, taking 37 seats.

Following the RN, the New Popular Front (NFP), the left-wing parties' electoral alliance, won 32 seats, while French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition only gained two seats.

Five other deputies from various right and extreme right parties were also elected during the first round.

Given the possibility of riots following the announcement of the election results, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that some 30,000 police officers would be deployed across France on Sunday, including 5,000 in Paris and its suburbs.

Polling booths are open for the 49.5 million registered voters from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time (0600 GMT to 1600 GMT), while in major cities, such as Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the booths will close at 8:00 p.m. local time.