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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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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the US tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff.

It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since Trump began his second term in January. Trump and Putin spoke in February and agreed to start high-level talks over ending the war in Ukraine.

“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff this week met with Putin in Russia for talks aimed at ending the country’s invasion of Ukraine and said he expects to see a deal soon.

“The president uses the timeframe weeks and I don’t disagree with him. I am really hopeful that we are going to see some real progress here,” Witkoff said.

When Witkoff appeared later Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation,” he again spoke about a prospective Putin-Trump call but did not offer specifics on what decisions might be made coming out of the discussion.

Witkoff said they forged a relationship in Trump’s first term and that he expects the call this week to be “very positive and constructive.”

Trump's first call to Putin came after Witkoff traveled to Russia to bring home Marc Fogel, an American history teacher the US had deemed wrongfully detained.

One day after the prisoner swap, Trump announced that he spoke to Putin and said their call was “lengthy and highly productive.”

Witkoff demurred on whether Putin and Trump will decide in the call to move forward with a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to the deal. Putin has said he agrees in principle with the proposal but there are details to be worked out.

“President Trump is the ultimate decision maker, our decision maker, and President Putin, for the country of Russia, is their decision maker,” Witkoff said. “I think it’s a very positive sign that the two of them will be talking at some point. I think that’s showing that there’s positive momentum.”

Witkoff also brushed aside a recent assessment from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in a statement that Russia “does not seem to be sincerely seeking peace” and that Putin was intensifying the fighting before negotiating.

Witkoff said he was not aware of Macron's comments but said, “it’s unfortunate when people make those sort of assessments” when “they don’t have necessarily firsthand knowledge.”

“I know what I heard, the body language I witnessed,” Witkoff said of his meeting with Putin. “I saw a constructive effort, over a long period of time to discuss the specifics of what’s going on in the field.”