Pre-election polls suggested the National Rally had a chance at winning a parliamentary majority, in which scenario, Emmanuel Macron would be expected to name 28-year-old National Rally President Jordan Bardella as prime minister in an awkward power-sharing system known as “cohabitation”, according to an Associated Press report.

28-Year-Old To Be France Prime Minister?

Projections by polling agencies suggest the National Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, with an estimated one-third of the first-round vote, nearly double their 18 per cent in the first round in 2022.

France President Emmanuel Macron called the surprise elections just three weeks ago after his party was defeated in the European Parliament election earlier in June by the National Rally, which is known for having historic ties to racism and antisemitism and is hostile toward country's Muslim community. National Rally also has historical ties to Russia.

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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an “absolute majority” at parliament, saying a majority would enable the far right to form a new government with party President Jordan Bardella, 28, as prime minister in order to work on France's “recovery”.

While Macron has said he won't step down before his presidential term expires in 2027, sharing power with Bardella under 'cohabitation' system would weaken him at home and on the world stage.

Cohabitation is a system of divided government that takes place in semi-presidential systems, such as France, whenever the president is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament.

National Rally is rallying on its success in European elections that prompted Macron to dissolve parliament and call the surprise vote. The second round will be decisive but sparks questions on how Macron will share power with a prime minister who is hostile to most of his policies.

Voters Frustrated With Macron

Many voters in France are unhappy over inflation and other economic concerns, as well as President Emmanuel Macron's leadership, seen as arrogant and out-of-touch with their lives, the AP report mentioned, adding that National Rally has utilised discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok, and led in preelection opinion polls.

A new coalition on the left, the New Popular Front, is another challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance Together for the Republic. It includes the French Socialists and Communists, the greens and the hard-left France Unbowed party and vows to reverse an unpopular pension reform law that raised the retirement age to 64, among other economic reforms.

There are 49.5 million registered voters who will choose the 577 members of the National Assembly, France's influential lower house of parliament.

Turnout stood at an unusually high 59 per cent three hours before polls closed. That's 20 percentage points higher than turnout at the same time in the last first-round vote in 2022.

According to some pollsters, high turnout could temper the outcome for the hard right National Rally, possibly indicating voters made an extra effort to cast ballots for fear that it could win.