Iron shields and wooden panels are installed on shop fronts in Paris in anticipation of riots as the elections end.

Agadir 24 – Agencies

Shopkeepers on the Champs-Elysees in Paris rushed to install iron shields and wooden panels on their storefronts and windows today, in anticipation of riots that may break out at the end of the second round of elections.

Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent stores were already preparing for possible unrest on Sunday following the second round of French parliamentary elections was announced.

The French Interior Ministry had previously issued a similar warning, saying that more than 30,000 security personnel would be deployed to ensure security in France, including 5,000 in Paris and its suburbs, in anticipation of protests.

Mid-market stores adjacent to the shops on the famous street also installed plywood panels to protect their windows and doors.

Shopkeepers on the major shopping street of Rivoli and on the Grand Boulevard area did the same.

Currently, traffic on the Champs-Elysees is partially closed, and police are deployed on the street.

Polling stations opened on Sunday morning for voting in the second round of early elections for the National Assembly (the lower house of the French parliament), according to the country’s interior ministry. Turnout in the second round at 12:00 Paris time (13:00 Moscow time) was 26.63%.

The first round of elections took place last Sunday, June 30. The right-wing National Rally party and its allies from the Republican Party won 33.15% of the votes, the left-wing New Popular Front won 27.99%, and President Emmanuel Macron’s coalition came in third with 20.04%.

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