French President Emmanuel Macron casts his vote in first round of surprise elections he called for

Paris, Jun 30 (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron has voted Sunday in the first round of surprise elections he called for just three weeks ago.
    The centrist leader placed a huge gamble in dissolving the lower house of parliament after major gains for the far right in European elections in early June. Two rounds of voting will determine who will be prime minister and which party controls the National Assembly.
    Macron risks sharing power with parties opposed to most of his policies.
    The vote takes place during the traditional first week of summer vacation in France, and absentee ballot requests were at least five times higher than in the 2022 elections. (AP)
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)