France increased police deployment to prevent post-election troubles

• 30,000 police officers deployed across France post-runoff to ensure peace.
• Two candidates reported attacks on the campaign trail.
• The second round will determine Marine Le Pen’s National Rally’s parliamentary majority.

A minister announced that some 30,000 police officers will be deployed across France late on Sunday following the high-stakes runoff of a parliamentary election to ensure there is no trouble. Two candidates reported being victims of attacks on the campaign trail.

Sunday’s second round will determine whether Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) secures a parliamentary majority for the first time and forms the next government in France, the euro zone’s second-largest economy.

Government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot said she and her team were attacked by a small group of youths on Wednesday evening while they were out putting up campaign posters, marking a campaign marred by political tensions and occasional violence.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, Thevenot reported that while she was unharmed, her deputy and a party activist were injured by an unidentified group of about 10 youths who were defacing campaign posters. In Savoie, RN candidate Marie Dauchy said a shopkeeper at a market attacked her on Wednesday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that authorities had arrested four people in connection with the attack on Thevenot’s team. He emphasized that he would take special care regarding security on Sunday evening when the election results will be announced.

He told France 2 TV that 5,000 of the 30,000 police deployed that evening would be stationed in Paris and its surroundings. Their objective is to ensure that the radical right and radical left do not exploit the situation to cause mayhem.

According to a poll by Harris Interactive for Challenges magazine on Wednesday, efforts by mainstream parties to prevent the far right from achieving an absolute majority appeared effective. The poll indicated that the anti-immigration, eurosceptic RN and its allies would secure between 190 to 220 seats in the 577-member assembly, while the center-right Republicans (LR) would gain between 30 to 50 seats. This outcome could eliminate the possibility of a far-right minority government supported by part of the LR parliamentary group.

The poll emerged after more than 200 candidates across the political spectrum withdrew their candidacies to pave the way for the candidate best positioned to defeat the RN candidate in their district, a process known as the “republican front.” However, considerable uncertainty remains, including whether voters will support these efforts to block the RN.

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