Front National's Marine Le Pen and far-left's Jean-Luc Mélenchon in election battle in northern France

It’s the last week of campaigning ahead of the first round of parliamentary elections here in France. 6,611 candidates are running for 577 seats. Newly-elected Socialist president Francois Hollande is hoping to win a parliamentary majority, whereas his opponents are hoping to block his capacity to govern. MPs are elected directly, in local districts – but some of the campaigns have become national causes. And one in particular has become a battleground between the Far Left and the Far Right. RFI reports from Hénin-Beaumont, in the north of France, where not everyone is pleased to be in the national spotlight.

Reuters/Pascal Rossignol