A voter during the voting in the parliamentary elections in FrancePARIS, June 12, Anastasia Ivanova.The first round of parliamentary elections in France is taking place with a low turnout, there are no queues of people wishing to vote at polling stations in Paris, as was the case during the presidential elections, RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the scene. Polling stations opened for voting in the first round of elections in National Assembly of France (lower house of parliament) on Sunday at 8:00 (9:00 GMT). According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the turnout as of 12:00 local time (13:00 Moscow time) was 18.43%, which is lower than in 2017: then 19.24% of the French voted in the elections by this hour.
Macron gathered in Kyiv: the French will pay for the escalation of the crisisThe situation at the polling stations in the French capital also testifies to the low turnout. There are no queues and excitement, as it was in the presidential elections in April, at the polling stations in Paris in the parliamentary elections. So, some sites in the 17th district, which are located in the buildings of kindergartens, schools and city halls, as the correspondent of RIA Novosti was convinced, are practically empty, the employees of the sites are watching the entrance expectantly; some of the voters are present no more than two or three people. Also, in many polling stations there are no guards, as was the case in the presidential elections. The low number of voters in the parliamentary elections was also predicted by a survey conducted by the Odoxa analytical center and Backbone Consulting for the Figaro newspaper . According to the study, the turnout may be at a historically low level and amount to only 46% after two rounds. Five years ago, this figure was at the level of 48.7%. Parliamentary elections are held in France in two rounds — on June 12 and 19. They will elect 577 deputies of the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) for a period of five years from almost 6,300 applicants for a deputy mandate. The presidential coalition «Together!» (Ensemble!), which unites the Renaissance party founded by French President Emmanuel Macron (previously called Forward, Republic!), the center party Democratic Movement and the centre-right parties Horizons and Act. Also participating in the elections is the left-wing coalition New People's Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), which includes Jean-Luc Mélenchon's Unsubdued France, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the Europe-Ecology-Greens party. The far-right parties «National Rally» Marine Le Pen and «Reconquest» Eric Zemmour also take part in the voting. Parliamentary elections in France take place a month and a half after the country's presidential elections, as a result of which Emmanuel Macron was re-elected president for a second term. According to the results of the second round of the presidential elections, which took place on April 24, Macron received 58.55% of the vote, his rival Marine Le Pen — 41.45%. jpg» />France joined the «Artemis Accords»
