Another voter, who gave her name as Nathalie, abstained in the first round due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the second round, things are improving, and the situation is better even if the virus still circulates. But I'm not afraid. With my gloves, mask and pen, I think I can vote in security," she said.

Since early March, 29,778 people in France had succumbed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. As of Friday, 8,886 COVID-19 patients were still hospitalized, of whom 634 were in intensive care units.

Since May 11, France has eased restriction measures step by step after a months-long nationwide lockdown.

"The turnout is the main unknown of this election. It is difficult to know what will happen. The campaign, the longest in the 5th Republic (of France), had low intensity and struggled to gain momentum due to economic concerns and renewed health concerns," said Frederic Dabi, director of the IFOP opinion institute.

"What is certain is that we will not be at the same level of 2017," he added, estimating Sunday's turnout to be at 42 percent.

In the first round elections, only 44.3 percent of voters came to polling stations due to the risk of contamination, as against 63.5 percent in 2017.

CHALLENGE FOR MACRON'S PARTY

Facing his first domestic mid-term vote challenge, President Emmanuel Macron had bet on his La Republique en Marche (LREM) party -- which he created in 2016 -- to win control of major cities to anchor power at local levels, and offset losses in the rural zone where his party faces criticism of "doing little" for the working class, local media reported.

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