French voters in far-right bastion hope for change

STORY: French voters in Henin-Beaumont, where far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to retain her seat as parliament member, said they want things to change.

"We have to try. We’ve never tried it out, why not try? That’s all.”

The country is the closest it has been to having a far-right government since World War Two.

Polls predict Le Pen's National Rally or RN could win a majority of seats in the two-phase election, a sea change at the heart of the European Union.

Le Pen has sought to detoxify a party known for racism and antisemitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at President Emmanuel Macron, the high cost of living and growing concerns over immigration.

But not for everyone.

"I’m a bit scared of this National Rally. They have good ideas, but I’m really scared because I think that they're quite racist, and that’s something I don't tolerate.”

Macron stunned the country when he called the vote after the RN crushed his centrist alliance this month.

Participation was high in the first round on Sunday, underlining how France's rumbling political crisis has energized the electorate.

Macron will remain president after the election, but he'll have to pick a prime minister from whichever party or alliance can command a majority in the National Assembly, regardless of how divergent their policies are from his own.

France's electoral system can make it hard to predict the distribution of seats and the final outcome will not be known until the second round of voting ends on July 7.