France's exceptionally high-stakes election has begun after far-right dominated pre-election polls

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot for the first round of the parliamentary election, in Henin-Beaumont, northern France Photo: AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Barbara Surk and Helena Alves

Voters across mainland France have been casting ballots Sunday in the first round of exceptional parliamentary elections that could put France’s government in the hands of nationalist, far-right parties for the first time since the Nazi era.

The outcome of the two-round elections, which will wrap up July 7, could impact European financial markets, Western support for Ukraine, and how France’s nuclear arsenal and global military force are managed.