Voters in France head to polls in critical parliament election

Voters in France started heading to polling stations on Sunday to elect new members of parliament as the country finds itself at a crucial political crossroads.

Over 49 million registered voters will be able to cast a ballot to elect 577 members of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament, for a five-year term.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0600GMT), with voting to continue for 12 hours.

French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and announced snap elections after the far-right National Rally (RN) swept more than 31% of the vote in the European Parliament elections on June 9, defeating his centrist bloc.

National parliamentary elections will be held in two rounds, with the second to take place on July 7.

A political party or alliance needs at least 289 seats to secure a majority in the National Assembly.

Candidates need a majority of at least 50% in their constituency to be elected in the first round, while turnout must be at least 25%.

All candidates whose votes are less than 12.5% of registered voters are eliminated from the race and will not qualify for the second round.

A run-off can be between two or more candidates for a particular seat, which will go to the one with the highest tally.

Three main alliances dominate the scene: the right-wing alliance of RN and the Republicans, the centrist alliance "Together for the Republic," and the left-wing "New Popular Front."

In an announcement to dispell questions about his future plans, President Macron said he intends to stay on until the next presidential election in 2027.