France ‘on edge' as election is rocked by violent attacks

France's election campaign has seen more than 50 violent attacks on candidates and activists, a senior government minister has warned, as the country braces for a crunch final round of voting.

- ANDY GREGORY

Some 30,000 officers will be deployed to police the tense ballot tomorrow, including 5,000 in Paris, said interior minister Gerald Darminin - as France teeters on the brink of handing the far right its largest ever parliamentary victory.

Three polls in as many days have suggested Marine Le Pen and her protege Jordan Bardella's National Rally is on course to win more seats than any other party - but also to fall short of the 289 required for an absolute majority.

However, that lead has been cut short after National Rally's dominant performance in the first round of voting sparked immediate demands for a "republican front" to block the advance of the far right.