Far-right leader Bardella says he needs absolute majority to govern France effectively

FILE PHOTO: Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party, visits a farm on his first campaign trip for the upcoming French parliamentary elections, in Chuelles, near Montargis, France, June 14, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - The leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, appealed to voters on Tuesday to hand his party an absolute majority in upcoming parliamentary elections so that it is able to govern effectively.

Bardella's eurosceptic, anti-immigration party has its first real chance of winning national power in the June 30 and July 7 ballot. Opinion polls have consistently placed the RN first since President Emmanuel Macron's shock decision this month to dissolve parliament.