France holds elections to lower house of parliament

PanARMENIAN.Net - Polls are open in France where voting for the lower house of parliament begins, which will determine whether new President Francois Hollande's Socialists or rival conservatives control the government, according to the Associated Press.

The Sunday, June 10 elections, followed by runoffs a week later, will also show whether Hollande can push his tax-the-rich, down-with-austerity agenda, and how much of a voice the far right will have in policies on immigration and Muslim practices. The legislative race hasn't garnered nearly the headlines or drama of the presidential race in April and May, and many polls suggest turnout among France's 46 million voters could be around 40 percent - far less than in Hollande's showdown with Nicolas Sarkozy, the report says.

The new lower house serves for the next five years - coinciding with Hollande's five-year term.