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Voting got underway in France’s overseas territories Saturday in high-stakes snap parliamentary elections that could see the far-right party of Marine Le Pen take power for the first time.
Residents of the tiny French archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Canada, were the first to cast their ballots in the first round of the election.
France’s islands in the Caribbean and the South American territory of French Guiana also voted on Saturday.
And polling stations in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, hit by deadly riots last month, opened at 10:00 pm Paris time (2000 GMT).
Voting in mainland France starts on Sunday.
Support for the anti-immigration and eurosceptic National Rally (RN) party has surged despite President Emmanuel Macron’s pledges to prevent its ascent.
Most polls put the National Rally on course to win the largest number of seats in the 577-member National Assembly, parliament’s lower house. But it remains unclear if the party will secure an outright majority.
A high turnout is predicted and the final opinion polls have given the RN between 35 percent and 37 percent of the vote, against 27.5 to 29 percent for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance and 20 to 21 percent for Macron’s centrist camp.
Campaigning ended at Friday midnight. Candidates cannot speak publicly — nor can any polls be published — until Sunday evening when voting has finished.
If the RN obtains an absolute majority, party chief Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 28-year-old protege with no governing experience, could become prime minister in a tense “cohabitation” with Macron.
