Large numbers of French voters cast ballots Sunday in the second and final round of elections to decide whether the country will give the far right a parliamentary majority for the first time since it was occupied by the Nazis during World War II.
As of noon local time, turnout was 26.6%, up slightly from the 25.9% recorded at the same time during heavy Round 1 voting on June 30, according to the interior ministry.
"The individual freedoms, tolerance and respect for others is what's at stake today," Thomas Bertrand, 45, told the Associated Press after voting at a school in Paris.
Pierre Lubin, 45, said he was worried whether France would wind up with an effective government, and Valerie Dodeman, 55, said she was pessimistic about the outcome.
"No matter what happens, I think this election will leave people disgruntled on all sides," Dodeman said.
President Emmanuel Macron called for snap elections after his centrist allies were crushed by far right opponents during June 9 voting for the European Parliament.
In Round 1, the anti-immigration National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen scored its largest gains ever, and Sunday's voting will decide control of France's National Assembly and the next prime minister.
Le Pen has called on voters to give her party an absolute majority and opponents scrambled to cut deals for a ruling coalition if the National Rally party doesn't win outright, AP said.
