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After a strong result for France’s far-right in last week’s first round of voting, the winner in Sunday's round was France's left, an alliance of parties created specifically for this election.

France is voting in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its nationalistic, anti-immigrant vision. LEGAL NOTICE: Subscribers should ensure their broadcasters on any medium on Sunday July 7 until 1800GMT comply with the French electoral code, notably Article L49 Electoral Code, which prohibits the broadcast or publication by any means of communication, to the French public, messages that have the character of “electoral propaganda”.

CNN’s Senior Political Commentator David Axelrod weighs in on concerns for President Joe Biden’s age and what that can mean for the upcoming 2024 elections.

French PM Attal casts vote in pivotal runoff election that could propel the far-right to power

STORY: ::Kamala Harris attacks Trump on women's rights during an appearance aimed at wooing Black voters ::July 6, 2024 ::Kamala Harris U.S. Vice President "This is probably the most significant election of our lifetime. You know, we have said it every four years, but this here one, is it. We are looking an election that will take place in 122 days, where on one side you have the former president who is running to become president again, who has openly talked about his admiration of dictators, and his intention to be a dictator on day one, who has openly talked about his intention to weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies, who has talked about being proud of taking from the women of America the most fundamental right about making decisions about your own body." "Understand that the former president who is up for re-election has said he is proud of what has happened, proud of the fact that our daughters will have fewer rights than their grandmothers." ::New Orleans, Louisiana Harris, the top choice to replace U.S. President Joe Biden if he were to step aside as the Democratic Party's standard-bearer, was speaking in New Orleans at the Essence Festival of Culture, an annual culture and music festival sponsored by Essence magazine, whose target audience is Black women. She said the Nov. 5 vote was "probably the most significant election of our lifetime", before warning that Trump was "proud of the fact that our daughters will have fewer rights than their grandmothers." Harris on Friday (July 5) posted a supportive note on X after Biden's rally in Madison, saying the president had devoted his life to fighting for Americans. "In this moment, I know all of us are ready to fight for him," she said. 81-year-old Biden is facing a slow-boil uprising from congressional Democrats and some influential donors who have grown concerned he lacks the capacity to defeat Republican rival Trump in the upcoming election. But the president gave no hint that he was considering stepping aside on Saturday, after a pair of defiant public appearances a day earlier.

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s runoff presidential election, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili. Pezeshkian has promised to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. (AP video by Mohsen Ganji )

STORY: In the seaside town of Le Touquet in northern France, Sunday's snap parliamentary elections - and the far-right National Rally, or RN - were top of mind for voters. "I saw the map of France and it scared me a little because the majority are with the RN. So obviously, I don't feel very well. I think there are many of us who have this feeling, many who are afraid for France, for the future." While some welcomed the change embodied by the RN, others worried about what they called an 'anti-Semitic' and 'racist' party. Opinion polls forecast the far-right could be the largest party but fall short of an absolute majority. Ahead of the vote, parties across the political spectrum urged French voters to vote massively to tilt the outcome either way. Marine Le Pen's eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally topped the parliamentary election's first round with a third of the vote. It opened the prospect of the far-right leading a French government for the first time since World War Two. However, after a series of tactical withdrawals aimed at boosting whoever is best placed to beat the far-right, several surveys have projected a drop in the number of seats the RN could win. That would make an absolute majority even harder to reach.

STORY: :: New UK PM Starmer scraps the Rwanda migrant scheme :: July 6, 2024 :: Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister "Look, the Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It's never been a deterrent. Look at the numbers that have come over in the first six and a bit months of this year. They are record numbers. That is the problem that we are inheriting. It has never acted as a deterrent." :: London, England "The work has started and we will deliver change as quickly as we can and that will include change, you know, within the early months and years of the government. It won't be a question of simply saying nothing's going to change until towards the end of the first term. But different changes will be delivered at different speeds inevitably. What I can't pretend is that we can fix everything overnight." In his first news conference since becoming prime minister, Starmer also committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defense ahead of Washington's NATO summit next week to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary. The Labour Party surged to a landslide victory in Britain's parliamentary election, ending 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government and propelling Starmer to power as prime minister.

New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with his Cabinet for the first time on Saturday inside Downing Street. Starmer told his ministers it had been the "honour of his life" to be asked by King Charles III to form a government on Friday following the Labour Party's election win.

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s presidential election, defeating his hardline rival in a pivotal vote amid heightened domestic and international tensions. CNN’s political and national security analyst David Sanger explains why Pezeshkian will face difficulty bringing the country out of isolation.

STORY: :: Tehran residents say they're happy after moderate Pezeshkian wins presidential election "Honestly speaking, I just hope the expensiveness decreases, and jobs are easily found for young people, and that's it, I do not have any other special feelings; I'm happy that Mr Pezeshkian was elected." :: July 6, 2024 "I have a positive feeling for now, with the condition that he fulfils the promises he has made. (white flash) With Mr. Pezeshkian, the sanctions will likely be lifted, and that's very good for people." Iran's interior ministry announced on Saturday that Pezeshkian had won the country's presidential run-off. This followed June 28 ballot with historically low turnout, when over 60% of Iranian voters abstained from the snap election for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, who had died in a helicopter crash. The next president is not expected to produce any major policy shift on the nuclear program or change in support for militia groups across the Middle East, but he runs the government day-to-day, and can influence the tone of Iran's foreign and domestic policy.

STORY: :: Moulin Rouge can-can dancers dazzle spectators as its new windmill sails are lit up :: Paris, France :: July 5, 2024 :: Jane Bard, Dancer at The Moulin Rouge “I'm so proud to be a part of such a historic moment today as we light up our beautiful windmill, to let the magic continue tonight, and to dance in front of all of these people, it's just truly something indescribable and unforgettable. I'll always remember it. And I'm so lucky to dance beside so many amazing performances, well, tonight. I'm just so happy. Like, I can't stop smiling. I'm just bursting.” The sails of the red windmill atop the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret club in Paris, fell to the ground overnight in late April. The newly-built sails were installed last June 24, in time for the passage of the Olympic torch in front of the landmark on July 15. As the lights on the new sails were lit for the first time, a bevy of can-can dancers came out of the cabaret and performed for a street audience - twirling and shrieking, with high-energy lifts and splits. France goes into a second round of snap legislative elections on Sunday (July 7), possibly plunging the country into a deadlock in parliament. The Moulin Rouge, founded in 1889, became a global symbol of end-of-the-century Parisian culture, its famed can-can dancers widely depicted in paintings by avant-garde artists of the era such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat. Nowadays the audience is largely made up of tourist groups.

STORY: :: Biden in an ABC interview says only the 'Lord Almighty' could oust him from the presidential race Biden says only the 'Lord Almighty' could oust him from the presidential race in an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday, after facing questions about his shaky performance in a recent debate with Donald Trump. :: (If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?) :: "It depends if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that." "I'm not going to do that. (You're sure?) Yeah, I'm sure. Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said 'Joe, get out of the race,' I'd get out of the race. The Lord Almighty's not coming down." :: July 5, 2024 :: Madison, Wisconsin :: He also calls his debate against Donald Tump 'a bad episode' :: “It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition, I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. I had a bad night. “ :: (“You say you were exhausted. And I know you have said that before as well, but you came, and you did have a tough month, but you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn’t that enough rest time? Enough recovery time?”) :: “Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. As a matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked them if they did a COVID test to try to figure out what was wrong. And did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus, I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold." He added that it was no one else's fault but his own, and that he hadn't rewatched his debate performance. Biden's comments came in a clip of an interview that is being closely watched by Democrats concerned about the president's ability to serve another four years, or beat Republican Trump in November’s election, after his faltering debate performance on June 27.

Historically, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions have been a time for parties to come together, formally nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates and present a united front as the general election kicks into high gear. However, as the RNC descends on Milwaukee later this month and the DNC prepares for their big show in Chicago in August, both presumptive presidential nominees are bringing an unusual amount of uncertainty about their ability to serve a second term with them. Yahoo News explains why former President Donald Trump’s legal ongoing issues and growing concern over President Biden’s health are casting a shadow over the 2024 conventions.