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France's Far Right National Rally Still Leading ahead of Election, Poll Shows

An activist of French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party (L) distributes leaflets as President of the Occitanie regional council Carole Delga (R) arrives to support the candidate of the left wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), in the Cazeres market, near Toulouse, south-western France, on June 22, 2024, ahead of snap elections for a new national assembly on June 30 and July 7, 2024. (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)
An activist of French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party (L) distributes leaflets as President of the Occitanie regional council Carole Delga (R) arrives to support the candidate of the left wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), in the Cazeres market, near Toulouse, south-western France, on June 22, 2024, ahead of snap elections for a new national assembly on June 30 and July 7, 2024. (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)
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France's Far Right National Rally Still Leading ahead of Election, Poll Shows

An activist of French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party (L) distributes leaflets as President of the Occitanie regional council Carole Delga (R) arrives to support the candidate of the left wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), in the Cazeres market, near Toulouse, south-western France, on June 22, 2024, ahead of snap elections for a new national assembly on June 30 and July 7, 2024. (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)
An activist of French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party (L) distributes leaflets as President of the Occitanie regional council Carole Delga (R) arrives to support the candidate of the left wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), in the Cazeres market, near Toulouse, south-western France, on June 22, 2024, ahead of snap elections for a new national assembly on June 30 and July 7, 2024. (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)

France's far right National Rally (RN) party and its allies are seen leading the first round of the country's parliamentary elections with 35.5% of the vote, according to a poll published Sunday.
The Ipsos survey - conducted for Le Parisien newspaper and Radio France on June 19-20 - showed the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) alliance in second place with 29.5% of the vote, Reuters reported.
President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance was seen in third place, winning 19.5% of votes.
The turnout rate is seen at between 60 and 64%, which would be much higher than the 47.5% seen at the last general election in June 2022.
The RN's lead in polls ahead of the election that will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7, is unlikely to win the party an absolute majority. Macron called the ballot after his alliance's crushing defeat at EU elections earlier this month.
In a separate Ipsos survey, published by the Financial Times, the National Rally is seen as the most trustworthy when it comes to managing the economy and public finances.
According to the survey, 25% of respondents trust Marine Le Pen's RN the most to take the right decisions on economic issues, versus 22% for the New Popular Front and 20% for Macron's alliance.

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Russia, Ukraine Launch Aerial Attacks amid Proposed Ceasefire Talks

A view shows a damaged hotel at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov
A view shows a damaged hotel at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov
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Russia, Ukraine Launch Aerial Attacks amid Proposed Ceasefire Talks

A view shows a damaged hotel at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov
A view shows a damaged hotel at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov

Russia and Ukraine traded heavy aerial blows overnight Saturday, with both sides reporting more than 100 enemy drones over their respective territories.

The attack comes less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Putin said that he supported a truce in principle but set out a host of details that need to be clarified before it is agreed. Kyiv has already endorsed the truce proposal, although Ukrainian officials have publicly raised doubts as to whether Moscow will commit to such a deal, The AP reported.

In a statement Saturday, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of building up forces along the border.

“The buildup of Russian forces indicates that Moscow intends to keep ignoring diplomacy. It is clear that Russia is prolonging the war,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader also stressed that Kyiv’s troops were maintaining their presence in Russia’s Kursk region after US President Donald Trump said Friday that “thousands” of Ukrainian troops are surrounded by the Russian military.

“The operation of our forces in the designated areas of the Kursk region continues,” Zelenskyy said. “Our troops continue to hold back Russian and North Korean groupings in the Kursk region. There is no encirclement of our troops.”

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched a barrage of 178 drones and two ballistic missiles over the country overnight. The barrage was a mixture of Shahed-type attack drones and imitation drones designed to confuse air defenses. Some 130 drones were shot down, while 38 more were lost en route to their targets.

Russia attacked energy facilities, causing significant damage, said Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK.

Russia struck energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, DTEK said in a statement on Saturday. Some residents were left without electricity.

“The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,” the energy firm said.

Meanwhile, in Russia’s Volgograd region, Gov. Andrei Bocharov confirmed that falling drone debris had sparked a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city close to a Lukoil oil refinery, but provided no further details. Nearby airports temporarily halted flights, local media outlets reported. No casualties were reported.

The Volgograd refinery has been targeted by Kyiv’s forces on several occasions since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, most recently in a drone attack on Feb. 15.