Polling stations opened at 8 am on Sunday, July 7, in mainland France and Corsica, for the second round of early legislative elections. But it was shortly after noon that Emmanuel Macron showed up at his polling station in Le Touquet (Pas-de-Calais), to cast his ballot. Accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron, the President of the Republic took advantage of this trip to shake a few hands and chat with residents. Follow our live stream.
Midday turnout highest since 1981. By noon, 26.63% of voters had already gone to the polls, slightly more than last Sunday (25.90%) and a sharp increase compared to the second round in 2022 (18.99%), according to the Interior Ministry. This is the highest turnout in the second round at noon since 1981.
Politicians go to the polls. As soon as the polls opened, the first personalities cast their ballots: this was notably the case of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (Horizons), who voted in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), or the outgoing LFI MP Alexis Corbière, in his constituency of Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis) and the RN mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot. At 10 am, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, voted in turn in Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine). Former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, former President of the Republic François Hollande and the contested president of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, did the same at the end of the morning.
A second round in 501 constituencies. Voters are being called to the polls again, a week after the first round, which saw the National Rally come out on top (33.2%), ahead of the New Popular Front (28.1%) and the presidential camp (21%). At the end of the first round, 76 candidates have already been elected. In the 501 constituencies where a second round is being organized, 224 candidates have withdrawn, reducing the number of three-way races to 89, instead of the planned 306. There are also two four-way races remaining.
Very high turnout in the first round. Turnout reached 66.71% in the first round, according to the Interior Ministry. Only 33.29% of registered voters abstained. The last time such a high turnout was in 1997, with 67.9% of registered voters. Two years ago, during the second round, more than half of the voters called to the polls (53.77%) decided not to vote.
Results revealed from 8 p.m. Polling stations are open until 6 p.m. in most municipalities, but until 7 or 8 p.m. in some large cities. Voters residing in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and French Polynesia voted on Saturday, due to the time difference. This is also the case for French voters living abroad on the American continent.