French voters have gone to the polls for parliamentary elections, a month after electing Emmanuel Macron as president.

Mr Macron will be hoping his centrist candidates will pick up the majority of the 577 seats.

His centrist Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) party is seeking a clear majority in the National Assembly for him to push through reforms.

Speaking after his inauguration in May, Mr Macron said France had chosen "hope".

He went on to promise that the beleaguered European Union would be "reformed and relaunched" during his time in office.

He said: "The division and fractures in our society must be overcome.

"The world and Europe need more than ever France, and a strong France, which speaks out loudly for freedom and solidarity", he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at the Elysee palace in Paris | Image: Blondet Eliot/ABACA/ABACA/PA Images

He founded the party back in April 2016, as a platform for his presidential bid.

Latest opinion polls suggest the party could end up with a landslide of around 30% of the vote - that could translate to as many as 400 seats.

At least 289 seats are needed for a parliamentary majority.

If no candidate wins over 50% in the first round, the two top-placed go into the second round. A second round of voting is to be held next week.

The far-right Front National's Marine Le Pen, who came second in the presidential election, is running for a parliamentary seat in her northern constituency.

Her party only has two seats in the parliament.

If her party reaches a 15-seat threshold, it would be able to form a parliamentary group that would give it more speaking time.