Right-wing French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to score a crushing victory in parliamentary elections today, despite a row over his plans for tax hikes that appeared to have rallied the left.
An eve of poll survey gave Sarkozy's ruling conservatives and allies 380-420 seats in the National Assembly, a body Sarkozy must control if he is to implement campaign pledges to cut tax, boost the economy and slash unemployment.
Some reports said the party was looking to up its seats from 359 in the outgoing parliament to 400 or more.
Polling began at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and ends at 8 pm (1800 GMT), when the first television projections will be known. Over the two rounds of voting, independent centrists and extremist parties are likely to be the biggest losers.
The Democratic Movement of centrist Francois Bayrou was expected to win just 2-3 seats, the Greens 2-4, the Communists up to 16 and the far-right National Front none.
Sarkozy had urged voters to back his agenda for change with a powerful majority and his energetic start to his presidency has proven popular with voters and driven the right's campaign.
An Ipsos/Dell poll on Saturday projected Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and its centre-right associates would win 380-420 seats, below the institute's previous estimate and well short of the 463 seats suggested by other surveys.
The dip suggested the left had struck a chord with voters over the VAT row and its warnings a large majority would give Sarkozy unfettered power to push through radical reforms.