France to vote in election as far-right eyes historic win

French voters are due to cast their ballots in the first round of a snap parliamentary election that could usher in the country's first far-right government since World War II, a potentially substantial change at the heart of the European Union.

French President Emmanuel Macron shocked the country when he called the vote after his centrist alliance was defeated in European elections this month by Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN).

Her eurosceptic, anti-immigrant party was a longtime pariah but is now closer to power than it has ever been.