LONDON, July 1, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Paris stock market surged at the start of trading Monday on hopes the French far right may not win an absolute parliamentary majority and take control of government.

The Paris CAC 40 index jumped 2.6 percent to 7,672.71 points as a week of intense campaigning began ahead of runoff elections on Sunday.

The far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen won a resounding victory in the first round of the polls Sunday, with President Emmanuel Macron's centrists trailing in third behind a left-wing coalition.

But the key suspense ahead of the second round on July 7 was whether the RN would win an absolute majority in the new National Assembly.

Elsewhere in European stocks trading, Frankfurt's DAX index won 1.1 percent to 18,438.96 points at the open Monday.

London's FTSE 100 won 0.6 percent to 8,210.42 as Britain gears up for its own general election on Thursday, with the main opposition Labour party on course to end 14 years of Conservative rule.

The Tories, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have trailed badly in polls throughout the UK election campaign.