How to follow all the latest French election news this weekend
Sunday, June 30th marks the first round of polling in the crucial French parliamentary elections, which may well trigger a political earthquake in France and across Europe. Here's how to keep up with all the latest news and analysis in English.
What's happening?
France is holding snap parliamentary elections. Most French elections are held on a fixed cycle, but these are different - they were called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party's humiliating losses at the European elections at the start of June.
They came as a surprise to the French, and even to some senior members of the president's own party.
These elections are parliamentary elections - known as les législatives in French - and they determine the make-up of the French parliament and crucially the nature of the next government. The winning party gets to nominate the prime minister, but Macron will remain the president.
READ ALSO: Who is likely to be France's new prime minister
Why are they important?
Apart from the surprise factor, these elections are attracting worldwide attention because of who might win.
Current polling shows a strong lead for the far-right Rassemblement National party led by Marine Le Pen. If the party gains an absolute majority it would be able to nominate a prime minister - giving France a far-right PM for the first time since the Vichy occupation in World War II.
What a Le Pennist PM could mean for foreigners in France
The RN party are also strongly anti-EU and even the possibility of them being in power is already provoking near-panic in Brussels.
Then there's the fact that both they and the second-placed group (the alliance of leftist parties known as Nouveau Front Populaire) have somewhat vague economic plans, leading to turmoil on the stock markets.
When are they happening?
Like almost all French elections, these take place over two rounds - round one of voting is on Sunday, June 30th followed by round two a week later on July 7th. Preliminary results for each round will be available on Sunday evening from 8pm.
How do I follow them?
You can keep up with all the latest news at The Local - either on our website or app - at the French elections section HERE.
We will be updating the site on Sunday evening from around 8pm as the results come in, and explaining what happens next and what it all means - especially for foreigners living in France or those hoping to move here some day.
You can also listen to our weekly podcast Talking France - we will be making two election-special episodes coming out on Monday, July 1st and Monday, July 8th.
And you can sign up to receive by email or bi-weekly election briefings and all the latest election news.
If you download our app, which is available for Apple and Android phones, you can receive all the major breaking news in France and all election stories by turning on your notifications via the "User" button.
Do you have a question about the French elections you want us to try and answer? Feel free to email our team at [email protected]
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What's happening?
France is holding snap parliamentary elections. Most French elections are held on a fixed cycle, but these are different - they were called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party's humiliating losses at the European elections at the start of June.
They came as a surprise to the French, and even to some senior members of the president's own party.
These elections are parliamentary elections - known as les législatives in French - and they determine the make-up of the French parliament and crucially the nature of the next government. The winning party gets to nominate the prime minister, but Macron will remain the president.
READ ALSO: Who is likely to be France's new prime minister
Why are they important?
Apart from the surprise factor, these elections are attracting worldwide attention because of who might win.
Current polling shows a strong lead for the far-right Rassemblement National party led by Marine Le Pen. If the party gains an absolute majority it would be able to nominate a prime minister - giving France a far-right PM for the first time since the Vichy occupation in World War II.
What a Le Pennist PM could mean for foreigners in France
The RN party are also strongly anti-EU and even the possibility of them being in power is already provoking near-panic in Brussels.
Then there's the fact that both they and the second-placed group (the alliance of leftist parties known as Nouveau Front Populaire) have somewhat vague economic plans, leading to turmoil on the stock markets.
When are they happening?
Like almost all French elections, these take place over two rounds - round one of voting is on Sunday, June 30th followed by round two a week later on July 7th. Preliminary results for each round will be available on Sunday evening from 8pm.
How do I follow them?
You can keep up with all the latest news at The Local - either on our website or app - at the French elections section HERE.
We will be updating the site on Sunday evening from around 8pm as the results come in, and explaining what happens next and what it all means - especially for foreigners living in France or those hoping to move here some day.
You can also listen to our weekly podcast Talking France - we will be making two election-special episodes coming out on Monday, July 1st and Monday, July 8th.
And you can sign up to receive by email or bi-weekly election briefings and all the latest election news.
If you download our app, which is available for Apple and Android phones, you can receive all the major breaking news in France and all election stories by turning on your notifications via the "User" button.
Do you have a question about the French elections you want us to try and answer? Feel free to email our team at [email protected]
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
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