The Latest Breaking News from Jordan Bardella

France on Monday began less than a fortnight of frenetic election campaigning for snap polls called by President Emmanuel Macron to combat the far right, with star footballer Kylian Mbappe warning the country was at a historic crossroads.

France was on Sunday bracing for a frenetic fortnight of election campaigning for snap polls called by President Emmanuel Macron to combat the far right, as star footballer Kylian Mbappe waded into the febrile environment with a warning not to vote for extremes.

Marine Le Pen’s party is breaking record high scores across vast areas of the country, polls show, with an increase in its influence inevitable

President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call snap legislative elections has provoked frustration in French overseas territories, where the short timeframe to organise the polls has been challenged at the Constitutional Council. There is also anger over the fact that key parliamentary projects for overseas France have come to a standstill.

France is heading into an electoral campaign just weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics, and organisers are worried about managing polls amidst preparations for the Games. They also have questions about the impact of a change in government if the presidential party loses.

Standing outside the Catholic school where he teaches in eastern France, Charles Lauvergne said he was unsurprised the far right did so well in last week's European elections.

France's snap elections have sparked reconciliation within the country's most prominent far-right family, the latest episode in the saga of the tempestuous Le Pens.

Leading left-wing French politician Raphael Glucksmann on Friday threw his weight behind a new coalition of the left in the run-up to historic elections, while far-right powerhouse Marine Le Pen pledged a "national unity government" if her party wins the snap polls.

President is trying to push back against Le Pen’s party, but experts warn there is potential for strategy to backfire.