France to deploy 30,000 police on Sunday to prevent possible election unrest

(Patria) - Nearly 30,000 police officers will be deployed across France late on Sunday, after the second round of parliamentary elections, to prevent unrest after three candidates were attacked, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said today.

The second round of elections will decide whether Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party will win a parliamentary majority for the first time in history and form a new government.

The election campaign has been marked by political tensions and growing violence.

Darmanin said he would "pay close attention" to security on Sunday evening, when election results are announced.

- Nearly 5,000 police officers will be deployed in Paris and the surrounding area to "ensure that the radical left and radical right do not exploit the situation to cause chaos," Darmanin told France 2 TV.

He noted that four people have been arrested in connection with an attack that occurred last night. Government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot and her associates were attacked while putting up election posters.

Thevenot was not injured, but her deputy and a party activist were. They were attacked by a group of about ten young people who were destroying posters.

National Rally candidate in the Savoie department, Marie Dauchy, was attacked by a market trader on Wednesday.

Additionally, a 77-year-old deputy mayor in a small town near Grenoble in southeastern France was punched in the face on Thursday morning while putting up a poster for Olivier Veran, a former spokesman for President Emmanuel Macron.

Meanwhile, the latest opinion polls suggest that the mainstream parties' plan to prevent the far-right from winning an absolute majority may succeed.

A Harris Interactive poll for Challenges magazine showed that the National Rally will win 190 to 220 of the 577 seats, and the Republicans (centre-right) 30 to 50.

This could rule out the possibility of forming a minority far-right government that would have the support of some Republicans.

The poll was released after more than 200 candidates from across the political spectrum withdrew their candidacies to clear the way for the candidate most likely to defeat the National Rally candidate in their constituency, a move known as the "republican front."

However, it remains unclear whether voters will support this plan.