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00:00As French citizens go to the polls, turnout at 12 p.m. was the highest since 1981.
00:11Denmark and Belgium have joined Orban's Patriots of Europe group,
00:14meaning the far-right group can officially be recognised by the European Parliament.
00:23Voting has begun in France in pivotal run-off elections.
00:26The country faces a choice that could either hand a historic victory to the far-right
00:30or result in a hung parliament and political deadlock.
00:34This Sunday's vote will determine which party controls the National Assembly and who becomes Prime Minister.
00:41By midday, turnout was 26.6% according to France's Interior Ministry,
00:46the highest at that time on an election day since 1981.
00:51With Macron's centrist majority weakened,
00:53he may be forced to share power with parties opposed to his pro-business, pro-EU policies.
01:01Amid a campaign marred in violence towards candidates and Russian cyberattacks,
01:05the government has deployed 30,000 police to maintain order.
01:10The first round of voting on July 1st saw the highest voter turnout in four decades,
01:14reaching almost 60%.
01:16This Sunday, voting will conclude at 8 p.m.
01:23President Emmanuel Macron cast his vote on Sunday in the seaside resort of La Touquet
01:28alongside his wife, Brigitte.
01:30Far-right leader Marine Le Pen didn't need to vote again
01:33as she already won her district in northern France in the first round last Sunday.
01:38And her deputy, Jordan Bardella, also didn't need to vote again as he's also been re-elected.
01:44Like the President, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had to vote for a second time
01:48in the district of Vinves in the south-western suburbs of Paris.
01:53By midday, the turnout stood at 26.6%,
01:56the highest percentage at that time on a legislative election day since 1981.
02:02Former Socialist President Francois Hollande voted in Corrèze in the south.
02:07He's a candidate for the new popular party, a broad coalition of leftists and greens.
02:13Exit polls in the evening based on partial results will indicate who's likely to have won.
02:19Victor Orban's right-wing group, the Patriots of Europe,
02:23have gained crucial support in the European Parliament.
02:26Denmark's People's Party and Belgium's Vlaams Belang
02:29are the most recent to join the Patriots of Europe after leaving the ID group.
02:35Giving the new European Parliamentary Group crucial support in pushing numbers to 29 MEPs,
02:41meeting the EU's recognition threshold.
02:45Marine Le Pen is expected to merge with the Patriots, leaving the future of the ID in jeopardy.
02:53Orban announced the creation of the Patriots for Europe on June 30th,
02:57along with Austria's Freedom Party and the Czech Republic's ANO.
03:03The Netherlands' Party of Freedom, Portugal's Chega and Spain's Vox have also joined within the last week.
03:09With Patriots of Europe, Orban aims to leave the EU's hard right
03:13and become the fourth largest group within the European Parliament.
03:20Newly appointed UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Poland and Sweden on Sunday,
03:26following his trip to Germany on the weekend.
03:28His talks in Poland revolved around continued support for Ukraine.
03:32This is his first international tour aimed at strengthening ties with European partners.
03:37Lammy also reaffirmed Stammer's commitment not to rejoin the EU, however,
03:41respecting the 2016 referendum decision.
03:45On Twitter, Lammy reiterated his mission to rebuild relations with the EU.
03:53Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer began his tour of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
03:58aiming to reset relations between Westminster and the UK's nations.
04:04Labour achieved a majority in England, Scotland and Wales in the recent general election.
04:09Starmer is focused on rebuilding relations with devolved administrations
04:13after years of strained ties with the Conservative government.
04:16His tour starts in Scotland.
04:22The San Fermin festival, famous for its bull runs, has officially opened in Pamplona in northern Spain.
04:29The traditional start of the festival was marked by the firing of a rocket from the balcony of the city hall.
04:35Dressed in traditional white outfits with red scarves,
04:39partygoers waited for noon to start the famous running of the bulls.
04:44But a day before, there had been protests in the city by anti-bullfighting groups
04:48who described it as medieval torture.