The first round of the French parliamentary elections have officially begun after polling stations opened on the island group of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off the east coast of Canada on Saturday, the local public broadcaster reported.
While time differences mean that voters in some French territories have started voting, those in mainland France will have to wait until Sunday to cast their ballots.
Following a severe setback for his party in elections to the European Parliament at the beginning of June and a clear victory for the right wing National Rally (RN), French President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections for the French lower house, the National Assembly.
The second round takes place on July 7.
The populist RN is well ahead in pre-election polling, followed in second place by the new leftist movement New Popular Front (NFP), while Macron's centrist Renaissance is trailing in third.
France's 577 constituencies each send one delegate to the National Assembly. Candidates securing more than 50% of the vote in the first round are elected, but most go through only after the second round.
Analysts see the RN taking most seats, but with final results difficult to predict, it remains unclear whether they will secure the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority.
Renaissance, which currently holds a relative majority in the National Assembly, is expected to lose many seats, despite Macron's stated aim of increasing his majority.