French election second round turnout nearly 60% at 5 pm
Voting has begun in France in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally - or produce a hung parliament and potentially months of political deadlock, Euronews reports.
The first round of voting on June 30th saw the largest gains ever for the National Rally.
By 5 pm on Sunday, turnout was 59.7%, according to France's interior ministry.
The result of Sunday’s vote will ultimately determine which party controls the National Assembly and who will be prime minister.
If support for Macron’s weak centrist majority continues to erode, he will be forced to share power with parties opposed to most of his pro-business, pro-European Union policies.
