PARIS — French Jewish and Muslim leaders have been calling in the past two weeks for people to come and vote to block the expected rise of far-right parties at the upcoming parliamentarian elections on June 30 and July 7.

The issue of limiting immigration has dominated the June 9 elections to the European Parliament, resulting in significant gains for right-wing and far-right parties across Europe, especially in France, Italy, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. The far-right National Rally gained 32% of the French vote, compared with only 16% for President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party. Still, while the National Rally is expected to make the biggest gains in the upcoming French parliamentarian elections — between 200 and 250 seats — the French far-left is also expected to do well. 

A poll published by the Economist on June 26 predicts a significant boost for the far-right and far-left parties, widening social and political rifts to an extent never seen before in the country. The National Rally is expected to gain as much as 37% of the votes, compared with 15% currently (88 seats in the parliament out of 577), according to the same poll. The New Popular Front, uniting far-left and left-wing parties, is expected to garner 29%, relegating the ruling Ensemble party, Macron's alliance, to third place with only 21%.

The National Rally has said that if it gets an absolute majority in the parliament, meaning 289 seats, it will demand that the president of the party, Jordan Bardella, be nominated as prime minister by Macron. The far left has also said they would expect Jean-Luc Melenchon to be nominated to that position if the party scores big.