PARIS – Polls have opened for the first round of France’s snap parliamentary election, which could oust President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance and leave him to see out the remaining three years of his term in an awkward partnership with the far right.

Voting began at 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), as France started the process of electing the 577 members of its National Assembly through locally fought contests across the country and in its overseas territories. The election is being held three years earlier than it needed to be, and three weeks after Macron’s Renaissance party was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN), the party of Marine Le Pen, in the European Parliament elections.

Minutes after the humiliating defeat, in an apparent attempt to call voters’ bluff, Macron said he could not ignore the message sent by voters and took the “serious, heavy” decision to call a snap election – France’s first since 1997.  Whatever the outcome, Macron has pledged to remain in post until France’s next presidential election in 2027.  The National Assembly is responsible for passing domestic laws – from pensions and taxation to immigration and education – while the president determines the country’s foreign, Europe and defense policy. (CNN)