Marine Le Pen's RN came out well ahead in Sunday's first-round vote after President Emmanuel Macron's gamble on a snap election backfired.
Tactical withdrawals have divided the presidential camp since the first round, with political heavyweights refusing to toe the line after both Macron and his Prime Minister Gabriel Attal called for a large number of pullouts.
Macron's Renaissance Party could face a crushing defeat later this week after already losing to National Rally in the first round of the elections last Sunday.
France’s left-wing and centrist parties have withdrawn hundreds of candidates from Sunday’s parliamentary elections, in a move aimed at thwarting the formation of the country’s first far-right government since World War II.
