Paris, July 7 (Reporter) The French will go to the polls on Sunday to vote in a crucial runoff of parliamentary elections that will pit the right-wing National Rally of Marine Le Pen against the left-wing New Popular Front and President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble alliance. Polling places open at 8am (06:00 GMT) in mainland France. Some 49 million are eligible to vote. The Interior Ministry reported the highest voter turnout in 40 years in the first round of the elections on June 30. The National Rally and its allies finished well ahead of Ensemble in the first round of the snap elections, called by Macron after his centrist allies suffered a humiliating defeat in the European polls. The move backfired landing his electoral alliance in third place, far behind the New Popular Front. The latest opinion polls estimate that the euroskeptic National Rally will become the biggest party in parliament after the runoff vote but fall short of an absolute majority that would allow the right wing to rule alone. Macron said he would not step down before his term expires in 2027...////...