At a rundown café in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, Abdellah Bourezj is alarmed by the prospect of a far-right government that he says would be a “catastrophe for France”.
“Since I’ve been in France, I vote,” said the Algerian-born 70-year old retiree, who is a French citizen. “People need to mobilise to beat the extreme right.”
Although a hung parliament is likely, the far-right Rassemblement National is projected to hold the most seats after snap elections on Sunday, which could give party chief Jordan Bardella at shot at becoming prime minister.
Bardella has vowed to “combat Islamist ideologies”, and said it “is not desirable in French society” for women to wear the veil. The RN has also proposed banning dual nationals from some “strategic” government jobs.
France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations. The election, called by President Emmanuel Macron after his alliance lost widely to the RN in European elections, is adding to strains on those communities, along with tensions that have been brewing since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
In addition to the RN’s history of racism and antisemitism, some Jewish voters are also alarmed by the anti-Israel positions espoused by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), the largest group in the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) alliance that came second in last week’s first round.
But as France votes on Sunday, voters in around 50 out of 577 districts will have to choose solely between the RN and LFI after 82 centrist candidates withdrew from the race in a co-ordinated attempt with leftists to keep the far right from power.