Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife cast vote in first round of snap election

The former French president and his wife arrived in France on Sunday to vote in the first round of snap parliamentary elections in Paris.

Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were pictured preparing to vote amid the country's most polarising ballot in decades which could see the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen sweep to power in a historic first.

Donning chic black suits and shades, the couple arrived at the Paris polling station holding hands before meeting with other voters and staff inside.

Polls opened at 6am and will close at 4pm in small towns and cities, with a 6pm finish in the bigger cities, when the first exit polls for the night and seat projections for the decisive second round a week later are expected.

Voters in France's overseas territories cast their ballots earlier this weekend - with some 49million people eligible to vote in the historic snap election.

French former president Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy ( R) arrive to vote for the first round of parliamentary elections in Paris, on June 30, 2024

A divided France is voting in high-stakes parliamentary elections that could see the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen sweep to power in a historic first

Nicolas Sarkozy pictured inside the Paris polling station as the first day of voting commences

The election has been shaping up as a showdown between the right-wing National Rally (RN) and the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which is dominated by the hard-left France Unbowed.

While polls suggest support for Le Pen's RN has strengthened in recent days, the outcome of the two-round election, called three weeks ago by French president Emmanuel Macron, remains uncertain.

One poll carried out by Les Echos newspaper suggested the RN was on track to scoop 37 per cent of the national vote - up to two points from more than a week ago.

Another poll carried out by BFM TV predicted the far-right party could win between 260 and 295 seats out of the 577 up for grabs in the National Assembly.

Polls suggest the left-wing NFP could net 28 per cent of the vote, while Macron's centrist bloc follows behind at 20 per cent.

Official campaigning for the first-round vote ended at midnight on Friday, and following Sunday's much-anticipated vote, campaigning efforts will resume on Monday for another five days before voters are called back to the polls for a final second-round ballot on July 7.

'We are going to win an absolute majority,' said Le Pen in a newspaper interview on Wednesday, predicting that her protégé, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella would be prime minister.

Her party has a high-spending economic programme and seeks to reduce immigration.

Donning chic black suits and shades, the couple arrived at the Paris polling station holding hands before meeting with other voters and staff inside

The former French president pictured with his ballot in hand

Sarkozy greeted other voters and staff members at the polling station

If the RN does win an absolute majority, French diplomacy could be headed for an unprecedented period of turbulence: with Macron - who has said he will continue his presidency until the end of his term in 2027 - and Bardella jostling for the right to speak for France.

Bardella has already indicated he would challenge Macron on global issues and unveiled his party's manifesto in a press conference on June 24.

He declared the RN would demand a huge cut of between €2 billion and €3 billion in France's contributions to Europe - part of a wider plan to implement what he called 'realistic, credible' economic policies as France battles spiralling national debt.

France could lurch from being a pillar of the EU to a thorn in its side, demanding a rebate of the French contribution to the EU budget, clashing with Brussels over European Commission jobs and reversing Macron's calls for greater EU unity and assertiveness on defence.

A clear RN victory would also bring uncertainty as to where France stands on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Le Pen has a history of pro-Russian sentiment and while the party now says it would help Ukraine defend itself against Russian invaders, it has also set out red lines, such as refusing to provide long-range missiles.

Bardella's unveiling of the RN manifesto came as Emmanuel Macron warned France faces 'civil war' if either the hard-right or hard-left scores a big win in parliamentary elections.

Macron had claimed the policies of the RN and France Unbowed divided and isolated people, which would ultimately lead to conflict between different communities ahead of today's first round of voting.

Speaking on the Generation Do It Yourself podcast, the French president said: 'I think that the solutions given by the far right are out of the question, because it is categorising people in terms of their religion or origins and that is why it leads to division and to civil war'.

Leaders of both left and right condemned the president's remarks.

French president Emmanuel Macron was slammed for using a 'strategy of fear' after he warned a 'civil war' could be sparked if a populist or hard-left party wins the snap election

Far-right National Rally party president Jordan Bardella, right, leaves with far-right leader Marine Le Pen after a press conference, Monday, June 24, 2024 in Paris

Eric Ciotti, the leader of the conservative Republicans, who sparked outrage among allies by personally agreeing an election pact with the RN, accused the French president of being irresponsible.

'This is a strategy of fear,' he said, speaking on BFMTV-RMC.

Marine Le Pen said Macron's argument was 'weak' and showed 'he thinks he's lost this election'.

Speaking about France Unbowed, he added on the podcast: 'But that one as well, there is a civil war behind that because you are solely categorising people in terms of their religious outlook or the community they belong to'.

Here, Macron was referring to accusations that France Unbowed positions itself to attract Muslim voters through its critical stance on Israel's war in Gaza.

Following the comments, Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialists in the Senate, said: 'We are faced with someone who no longer controls anything.'

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of France Unbowed, also criticised Macron, saying on Monday night: 'He's always there to set things on fire.

'A president should not say that'.

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