France reports assaults on 51 candidates and aides before election

Dozens of candidates and their associates have been attacked during the French parliamentary election campaign, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.

"This election campaign is short, less than three weeks, and yet we have already counted 51 candidates, deputies or supporters who have been physically attacked," Darmanin said on the BFMTV channel on Friday.

Around 30 people with diverse profiles had been arrested in connection with the incidents, the minister said.

An attack on Wednesday on a team of French government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot, who is standing for election in the Paris region, is one notable case.

Thevenot's designated deputy for the parliamentary mandate and a supporter were reportedly set upon by a group of people while putting up election posters in Paris. The government spokeswoman herself remained unharmed.

On Sunday, France is due to vote in run-off elections in many places to decide the composition of the future National Assembly. Just 76 of the 577 seats were allocated in the first round.

According to polls, Marine Le Pen's far-right nationalist National Rally (RN) is likely to replace the centrist forces of President Emmanuel Macron as the strongest party in the lower house of parliament.