The French public goes to the polls on Sunday in the final round of the general election. One month on from Emmanuel Macron's re-election as French president, he is hoping to hold onto his majority in parliament but faces a new super coalition on the left.

Macron's lawmakers Ensemble and the left-wing alliance NUPES both polled 25 percent of first-round votes last week and are neck-and-neck going into Sunday's vote. It will be the fourth and final time this year that the French public cast a ballot in a national election.

After two rounds of the presidential election and the first round of the general election, this is the decisive, final vote for all 577 French MPs. 

At almost 19 percent by midday according to interior ministry figures, turnout was slightly higher than in last week's first-round ballot, although forecasters suggest participation will remain below 50 percent by the time all polling stations close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).

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The president is urging voters to give his party a majority in parliament so he can carry out proposed reforms like increasing the retirement age and restructuring the pensions system.

"It is decision time and important choices are never made by abstention," he said this week. "I am therefore appealing to your common sense and for a surge in our country. No abstention, no confusion – but clarification. On Sunday, I count on you to give a solid majority to our country in order to face all the challenges of the time and to build hope."

While his party stagnates in the polls, the president has been making moves, with his first trip to Ukraine since the start of the war. It was a visit criticized as opportunistic by the opposition.

"I have said it before and I will say it again, nothing that Emmanuel Macron does or says is free of electoral ulterior motives, so it is obvious that the choice of this trip two days before the second round of the election has an electoral purpose," said Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party.

The super-coalition on the left, which performed well in round one, wants to enact social justice and far-reaching green policies. Its success has also raised the prospect of a 'cohabitation' government, where the president and the prime minister come from opposing sides of the political spectrum.

Securing a majority in parliament is crucial for Macron to implement his manifesto. If he fails, there will be more capacity for the opposition to delay and block his planned policy measures.