How does France’s election work and what comes next?

French voters are going to the polls on Sunday for an exceptional moment in their political history (Picture: Jean-Francois Badias/AP)

French voters are going to the polls on Sunday for an exceptional moment in their political history: the first round of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country’s first far-right government since the Second World War Nazi occupation – or no majority emerging at all.

The outcome of the vote, following the second round on July 7 and a hasty campaign, remains highly uncertain as three major political blocs are competing: the far-right National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance, and the New Popular Front coalition that includes centre-left, greens and hard-left forces.