At least 200 candidates withdraw before second round of voting – France election live

4.14pm BST

As of 4:50pm local time, Le Monde has counted 216 withdrawals from races, including 144 from the left and 79 from the Macron camp.

3.57pm BST

Valérie Hayer , president of Renew Europe and a Macron ally, has praised a number of politicians for withdrawing their candidacies ahead of the second round of elections on Sunday.

3.30pm BST

With the 6pm deadline looming this evening, more candidates are announcing their withdrawal from three-way races.

Updated at 3.31pm BST

2.25pm BST

At least 200 candidates withdraw from races ahead of France's second round election

At least 200 candidates have stood down ahead of Sunday’s runoff election, according to the latest AFP tally.

Of those who have decided to quit, more than 110 are members of the left-wing New Popular Front and more than 70 come from Macron’s camp.

Updated at 2.26pm BST

1.32pm BST

Ahead of Tuesday’s 6pm (1600 GMT) deadline for registration for the second round of voting in the parliamentary elections, more than 160 candidates have already dropped out in three-way battles to prevent the far-right National Rally winning, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally.

The majority of those to have dropped out are from the left-wing coalition, although pro- Emmanuel Macron candidates are also giving way to help left-wing rivals, including three junior ministers.

Historically when confronted with the far-right close to power, the traditional right and leftwing parties have agreed to stand down certain candidates from the runoffs to avoid splitting the vote. But, as my colleagues Angelique Chrisafis and Sam Jones explain in this story , the tactical voting strategy known as the “republican front” is less certain than ever.

Updated at 1.34pm BST

1.19pm BST

The far-right National Rally’s (NR) Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella want an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat national assembly, but seat projections indicate they may fall short.

We reported earlier that Le Pen said if the NR is a bit short, it will try to make up that majority with extra MPs, for example from the right (see post at 08.05 ).

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), she has said her party would seek to form a government from a minimum of “for example, 270 deputies” and then find support from 19 more MPs.

Updated at 1.28pm BST

12.56pm BST

According to an early count by Le Monde, 128 left wing candidates have withdrawn from second-round races, while 76 of Macron’s allies also stepped back.

Updated at 1.08pm BST

12.42pm BST

The National Rally’s Jordan Bardella is debating on social media with France’s economy minister, Bruno Le Maire , about the far right’s plan to scrap nationality rights for children born and raised in France by foreign parents.

10.57am BST

Gabriel Attal , the prime minister and a Macron ally, said that “from the first round, we made the choice in more than sixty constituencies not to present a candidate.”

10.16am BST

The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif) issued a call today for a republican front to battle the National Rally without compromising with the hard left France Unbowed (LFI).

Faithful to its historic commitments, the Crif calls on the French to mobilise to prevent the National Rally from coming to power by voting massively for candidates from democratic and republican parties, and to categorically refuse any compromise with France Unbowed.

9.40am BST

Anne Hidalgo , the socialist mayor of Paris, has called for blocking the far right, warning of a “disaster” if the National Rally is not stopped.

9.31am BST

Here’s an image from the campaign trail today.

9.15am BST

The far right National Rally has decided to withdraw candidate Ludivine Daoudi after a photo emerged of her wearing a Nazi hat, France Bleu Normandie reported .

Updated at 9.15am BST

8.33am BST

François Bayrou , a heavyweight former minister who heads a party allied to Macron, has said republicans and democrats must face their responsibilities.

“Do I wish for us to come together among republicans to block the RN? Yes,” he said.

Updated at 8.36am BST

8.26am BST

Clément Beaune , a Macron ally, said there’s a need for systematic withdrawals from three-way races.

8.05am BST

'We wish to govern', Marine Le Pen says ahead of second round of French election

Speaking on France Inter this morning, the far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen said she would be respectful of Jordan Bardella ’s role if he becomes prime minister and that she wouldn’t want to be part of the government herself.

Asked if the National Rally would attempt to form a government if it doesn’t get a majority in the national assembly, Le Pen argued a majority would be needed.

“It is evident that we cannot accept to go to government if we cannot act,” she said.

“We wish to govern,” she stressed.

But she also said that if the National Rally is a bit short, it will try to make up that majority with extra MPs, for example from the right.

Le Pen also said she would not sit in the government and that she won’t be president of the national assembly.

“I will be at the head of the group of deputies,” Le Pen said.

Asked whether she would join a new European political group formed by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán , she did not give a concrete answer, instead saying the party will look at what’s on the table after the French election.

“We are concentrated on an election that is fundamental for the future of the country,” she said.

Updated at 12.03pm BST

8.05am BST

Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.

Today we will be focusing on the latest in France, as the country prepares for the second round of a closely-watched legislative election this weekend.

We’ll also be keeping an eye on how the European far right is reacting to political shifts in France, and how far right parties are reshuffling their own alliances for the incoming European parliament.

Updated at 11.45am BST