Macron party favourite as France elects new parliament

 Paris (dpa) - Polls opened Sunday for the first round in France’s parliamentary elections, with the year-old centrist party of recently elected President Emmanuel Macron heavily favoured to win a majority.  

The last opinion polls of the legislative campaign put Macron’s La Republique en Marche (The Republic on the Move, LREM) on 29 to 31.5 per cent support for Sunday’s first round.  Its closest rival, the centre-right Les Republicains, was the choice of only 19 to 23 per cent of survey respondents.   

The Socialist Party of Macron’s predecessor, Francois Hollande, meanwhile fears electoral meltdown. Macron will be hoping for a majority in the 577-member National Assembly in order to win approval for his government, headed by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.