Voting in France's parliamentary runoff election began on Sunday.

National Assembly seats are at stake in 501 of the 577 electoral districts where there were no winners in the first round. The snap lower house election was called by President Emmanuel Macron.

The ruling coalition led by Macron, the far-right National Rally, and the leftist alliance, the New Popular Front, are competing in a three-way race.

Opinion polls suggest the National Rally will likely become the largest force in the lower house.

In a bid to counter the far-right forces, the ruling coalition and the New Popular Front have been working together to support unified candidates by asking others eligible for the run-offs to withdraw.

It remains to be seen whether such efforts will help the two camps win more votes. There is a large policy gap between them.

After casting his ballot, a voter in his 40s said that he does not necessarily agree with Macron's policies, but he does not want to see the National Rally or any other extremist party take power.

Vote-counting will begin later on Sunday.