The Cher department in central France used to be a stronghold of the left.

During World War II, it was one of the heartlands of the French resistance fighters known as maquisards. France was at the time partly occupied by Nazi Germany, while the rest of the country was under the rule of French general Philippe Petain, whose Vichy government was collaborating with the Nazis.

Since the 1950s, several provincial towns of the Cher, such as Vierzon, even voted in the Communist Party.

But in last Sunday's first round of voting in France's parliamentary elections, candidates from the far-right National Rally (RN), the party of former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, came first in all three of Cher's constituencies.

On a national level, the RN won the highest share of votes, with more than 33%. The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), including far-left movement France Unbowed, the Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communist Party, came second with about 28% of the vote.

The camp of President Emmanuel Macron, who had called the snap elections as a reaction to his party's crushing defeat in June's EU parliamentary elections, landed a distant third place.

RN candidate Bastian Duenas outdistanced the communist runner-up by more than 10% in one of the Cher's voting districts.

"Our party cares most about the French," the 22-year-old told DW, as he was preparing to hold a public gathering in a small village called Mehun-sur-Yevre just out of Vierzon before campaigning closed last Friday.

The law student has been a municipal councilor in nearby Mereau since 2020. Just like 28-year-old RN president........

© Deutsche Welle