live from london, this is bbc news. voting gets under way in two hours�* time in the first round of france's parliamentary elections. meanwhile, campaigning in the uk enters its closing stages with the general election just days away. it was a sky full of stars for coldplay�*s glastonbury set with hollywood legend michaelj fox joining on guitar. and a glimpse behind the curtain of the british royal family as balmoral opens a guided tourfor the first time. hello. voting in france gets under way in two hours�* time

in france in the first round of parliamentary elections. the election, called to widespread surprise by president emmanuel macron, has thrown french politics into disarray. support for the anti—immigration and eurosceptic national rally party has surged despite president macron�*s pledges to stop its rise. the far—right national rally is widely expected to come in first place. in the 577—member national assembly, pa rliament�*s lower house. but it remains unclear if the party will secure an outright majority. the shape of the new parliament will become clear after the second round of voting onjuly 7. i am joined by prof jonah levy, vice—chair of the department of political science, specialising in french and west european politics at the university of california, berkeley. thank you forjoining us. first of all, remind us, why did president emmanuel macron call this snap election?—

this snap election? president emmanuel — this snap election? president emmanuel macron _ this snap election? president emmanuel macron made - this snap election? president emmanuel macron made a i this snap election? president - emmanuel macron made a pretty irresponsible gamble. the reason he called it was he is just short of our legislative majority and has found it difficult to pass is legislation. the author wanted to respond to his party's crushing defeat in the european parliamentary elections and he thought that by dissolving parliament and campaigning as a rampart against the national rally, he could restore his party to an absolute majority. that was a huge gamble considering it does open the possibility that the national rally will be empowered. yes. rally will be empowered. yes, how much _ rally will be empowered. yes, how much power— rally will be empowered. yes, how much power can - rally will be empowered. yes, how much power can marine . rally will be empowered. yes, how much power can marine le pen floor away from president emmanuel macron?— pen floor away from president emmanuel macron? all emmanuel macron? pretty much all of it. emmanuel macron? pretty much all of it- the _ emmanuel macron? pretty much all of it. the french _ emmanuel macron? pretty much all of it. the french have - emmanuel macron? pretty much all of it. the french have a - all of it. the french have a cohabitation, meaning the president cohabit with the

legislature controlled by the opposing party. there have been through such cohabitation is an in each case the president has basically been reduced to a figure head and power has shifted to the parliament and to the prime minister. the only area where there is some ambiguity, and it could be important in this upcoming case, concerns defence and foreign policy, where a constitutional text support the claims of both the president and the prime minister, so it is possible we would the tussles over foreign policy but when it comes to domestic policy, the prime minister, thatis policy, the prime minister, that is the national rally, would have the power and president emmanuel macron would not be able to do much of anything. not be able to do much of anything-— anything. you talk about france's _ anything. you talk about france's international i france's international relations and politics. how important are the relations with russia in the selection? it has not been central to the election. the main issues have

been more domestic, about purchasing power and crime, and terrorism, which i guess has some international dimension. but the issues that are likely to be most contention — — contentious in a cohabitation would be european migration relations with russia and the ukraine wall. president emmanuel macron is the most euro file french president in the fifth republic whereas the national rally, despite moderating its discourse is hostile to european integration and wants to roll it back in some areas. when it comes to relations with russia, the national rally only made it through some of the lean years, thanks to a loan that came from a russian bank with close ties to the kremlin. so the national rally and its autonomy from vladimir putin is something of

a?. — — something of a question. a?. - - something of a question-— a?. - - something of a question. a?. - - something of a cuestion. ., , ., , question. inner opinion, why are voters — question. inner opinion, why are voters tending _ question. inner opinion, why are voters tending to - question. inner opinion, why are voters tending to the - question. inner opinion, why are voters tending to the far| are voters tending to the far right in france?— right in france? part of it is they have _ right in france? part of it is they have tried _ right in france? part of it is they have tried a _ right in france? part of it is they have tried a number. right in france? part of it isj they have tried a number of approaches to chronic economic problems and social strike and rising crime rates, and they have thrown the left up to the realjohn mcbride and then the write up for the left and they did that for about 2k years and then they tried the brand—new object, emmanuel macron, who supposedly took the middle, and other don't like him either. none of these politicians is really delivered. so many in france you are not even super familiar with the platform of the national rally ijust saying we've tried everything else, we may have give the national rally and jordan

bardella a chance because that is the only thing we have not tried. there is a kind of is aspiration with governing elites. —— is aspiration. many of the themes resonate with french voters, the top issue for the national rally for many years is purchasing power. if you look at their party platform, it is purchasing power, not immigration, listed first and purchasing power, and the weight of inflation, is the number one issue and priority for french voters. in addition, taking a hard—line on law and order also resonates with many french voters, as there have been a number of high—profile, highly visible uses of force and shootouts in the streets by rival drug gangs that have made many in france feel very

insecure and more responsive to the tough law and discourse of the tough law and discourse of the national rally.— the national rally. thank you. we're things— the national rally. thank you. we're things are _ the national rally. thank you. we're things are my _ the national rally. thank you. we're things are my pictures | we're things are my pictures there of paris, a couple of hours before the boats begin. —— are the votes begin. here in the uk, campaigning for this coming week's the general election is entering it's closing stages. the prime minister, rishi sunak, and the labour leader, sir keir starmer, have been highlighting their contrasting visions for the country. writing in today's observer newspaper, sir keir says he wants to "relight the fire" of hope in the uk, but mrsunak said labour could inflict "irreversible damage" on the uk. here's our political correspondent, ben wright. the finishing line is in sight. we've had the manifestos, the pitches and promises. now the campaigns are all about persuading supporters to get out and vote. since the campaign started, the crux of the argument between labour and the conservatives

has remained the same, labour promising change, conservatives warning voters not to risk it. so far, there remains a cousin between the two parties in the opinion polls. labour is certainly confident with days to go but remains anxious about voters not turning out. that was a theme sir keir starmer, the labour leader, drove home during the event in london last night. he said he wanted a clear mandate to govern and said this was the final furlong, people in britain have had the hope kicked out of them but they need to be reminded changes possible, a theme here and elaborate on for the observer this morning saying he wants to relight the fire of hopein wants to relight the fire of hope in the country and restore a bond of respect between people and politics. for his part, rishi sunak on saturday night was visiting a hindu temple in north—west london talking about his values,

conservative values, and speaking to the sunday telegraph, he claims labour would raise taxes for people in every stage of their life, a core theme of the tory campaign and acknowledges that voters feel frustrated with him and his party, but told the sunday telegraph this was a choice about the future. he also again warned and reiterated his view that a vote for reform uk would be a vote for putting sir keir starmer in number 10. with days left, the conservative party knows something dramatic needs to happen to turn their fortunes around this close to thursday. fighting in northern gaza has been continuing, with the israeli military saying it is fighting above and below ground. the new offensive in the shujaiya neighbourhood near gaza city comes several months after israel said it had dismantled hamas operatives in the north of the beseiged territory. with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. what do we know about what's going on in this

latest offensive? they really is an offensive in the shejaiya quarter in the city of gaza. there are other offences also happening closer to rafah. we do not know exactly why this offence happened in this area in particular but we may suspect that there is a new operation to release hostages. at the same time the israeli forces continue shelling different parts of gaza, leaving around 40 parts of gaza, leaving around a0 dead the last 2a hours. also the tension between the israel and hezbollah in the northeast continue and the offensive in the west bank is also continuing. the war is leading slowly into the ninth month, with no sign from both parties to calm down or to engage

positively in the ceasefire negotiations. i as you say, the ninth month and the un have warned about dire conditions being faced in gaza darkwa zero indeed, the people really paying the price of the fighting other civilians. around 2 million people in gaza are moving from place to place and they are saying, the un are saying, in the last a8 hours, 100,000 people moved from shejaiya and rafah because of the fighting. these people are living in dire situation, one of the worst humanitarian situations in recent history. people there are in need of shelter and need food and there are people who have chronic diseases and cannot find medication. there is a problem with toilets, people are living

amongst rubbish everywhere. the un is continuing to warn about that. there is shelling happening on a red cross post also, closer to rafah, happening on a red cross post also, closerto rafah, making life hard for people working with humanitarian aid agencies in gaza. with the current situation, there is not a single crossing border that is open for aid to come and also the us announced they will dismantle the temporary port. there is no way for people to get essential needs.- there is no way for people to get essential needs. thank you very much- _ president biden is at camp david, ramping up his campaign efforts this weekend after a faltering performance in a televised debate against donald trump fuelled concern about his candidacy. the president spent saturday

attending back—to—back fundraising events in two democratic stronghold states, in new york and newjersey. it all comes as his campaign says it has raised more than $27 million between debate day and friday evening. on saturday, a chicago tribune editorial urged mr biden to step down, one day after the new york times editorial board said he should leave the race for the presidency. but campaign officials and the president himself say that he is not going anywhere. hugo lowell, a senior political correspondent for the guardian, has more. biden very famously — inside his inner circle and democratic congressional campaign aides — doesn't like listening to the new york times and the major media. he thinks they're always naysayers and have always been questioning his ability. i think, if anything, the times running an editorial like this, based on conversations over the weekend,

will probably encourage him to stay in more. the people who have influence with biden and his thinking are his family and his closest advisers. and the moment any of them, like anita dunn, president obama, come in and say, "joe, you need to step down," that is the sort of thing that's going to have an influence, but not the new york times. emergency services have renewed the search for the british teenager jay slater, who disappeared in tenerife almost a fortnight ago. however there is still no signs of the 19—year—old from lancashire, 13 days after he disappeared while on holiday with friends.0ur correspondent nick garnett sent this report from tenerife. another day, another search. but an appeal for people to help out fell flat, half a dozen volunteers joined in. translation: we

dozen volunteers “oined in. translation:_ dozen volunteers “oined in. translation: ~ ., translation: we need to rule out these areas _ translation: we need to rule out these areas and _ translation: we need to rule out these areas and be - translation: we need to rule out these areas and be sure - out these areas and be sure that where we searched even though this has been done carefully in recent days, has been fully checked.- carefully in recent days, has been fully checked. remote and ru: aed, been fully checked. remote and rugged. trying — been fully checked. remote and rugged. trying to _ been fully checked. remote and rugged, trying to find _ rugged, trying to find something on this land is as hard as it gets. it something on this land is as hard as it gets.— hard as it gets. it is like a labyrinth- _ hard as it gets. it is like a labyrinth. a _ hard as it gets. it is like a labyrinth. a lot _ hard as it gets. it is like a labyrinth. a lot of - hard as it gets. it is like a labyrinth. a lot of bushes | hard as it gets. it is like a - labyrinth. a lot of bushes and very high, one square kilometre, takes, you can be there and you don't even see. i have a son the same age, he is also _ have a son the same age, he is also 19— have a son the same age, he is also 19 and _ have a son the same age, he is also 19 and i think if something would happen to him, i would _ something would happen to him, i would appreciate it a lot if others _ i would appreciate it a lot if others would help. jay slater was last seen _ others would help. jay slater was last seen almost - others would help. jay slater was last seen almost two - others would help. jay slater i was last seen almost two weeks ago, walking up a hill, away from the nearest village and into the countryside. as his phone ran out of battery, it registered his last location. jay slater got into trouble on one of these paths. he phoned a friend and that he was slipping around on the rocks. then his phone pinkies location one last

time and then the battery ran out. what happened next? the authorities firmly believe that they can find the answer to that by carrying out the searches time and again on the same areas of land. whether looking deep down in the ravines, high up in the mountains, through cacti or scrubland, they are pushing on to help find jay slater but as each centre passes with no breakthrough, the hope for the family to be reunited with their son are dashed, once again. nick arnett, bbc news, tenerife. iran will hold a run—off presidential election after results released on saturday showed the lowest turnout in decades. voters will now choose between conservative candidate saeed jalili and reformist masoud pezeshkian on 5july. both failed to secure a majority in the first round, which saw only about a0% of iranians vote. that is a record low since the 1979 islamic revolution.

the election will decide who replaces ebrahim raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash last month. he died along with the foreign minister and six other people. thank you forjoining us. tell us about the low turnout, what factors contributed? electorate has been quite _ factors contributed? electorate has been quite disenchanted i has been quite disenchanted with the political establishment. historically, iran has had good voter turnout in elections but in 2021, the electorate discovered that their vote did not really matter and the establishment, the conservative political establishment doesn't really want to invite high voter

turnout. so, as a result, at this election, as we saw, an overwhelming majority of arabians were on the fence and didn't decide until the last minute if they should vote —— iranians. minute if they should vote -- iranians— iranians. how does the perception _ iranians. how does the perception of - iranians. how does the perception of the - iranians. how does the - perception of the democratic process effect voter participation in iran and the overall legitimacy of the election?— overall legitimacy of the election? ., _, . election? the governing council has been increasingly _ election? the governing council has been increasingly draconian and allowing candidates to run for either the parliament or the presidency. there is a lack of transparency and people are disenchanted. now, once people get through, once the candidates get through the voting process, the election campaign can be quite lively and at times even reduced to mudslinging. this week will be

quite telling in terms of who will emerge success. i thank you for your time. meanwhile, saturday marks ten years since the so—called islamic state group declared its caliphate in iraq and syria. also known as is, isis or daesh, it no longer controls significant amounts of territory, but its ideology remains. is has expanded across several continents, carrying out most of its attacks in sub—saharan africa, but the group has also claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in other parts of the world, including in russia and iran. so what is a security threat still of islamic threat? ——

islamic state? ten years on from the formation of isis, or daesh, in the middle east, they are down but not out. they have transferred a lot of their activities away from the middle east to africa, not necessarily in terms of recruiting. we're not seeing the level of people flocking to their core activities level in areas in the way that it happened in around 2015, when we saw a lot of european volunteers going into fight for isis. that isn't happening in the same way. but they are very strong in parts of africa, particularly in sub—saharan africa, mozambique, the democratic republic of congo, in areas of the sahel — the mali, burkina faso, lake chad area. between two—thirds and 85% of the attacks on the last 12 months have taken place there. why is this? they are still active in syria, but less so in iraq, so they have lost their physical caliphate that they had.

they were defeated physically in 2019 at a place called al—baghouz in syria. that's when the last remaining stronghold of isis was wiped out, but the ideology has not gone away. it is still attractive to some people in countries with poor governments, with porous borders, where young people see absolutely no hope. so it still is a force to be reckoned with in afghanistan, for example, where they are fighting, believe it or not, the taliban. they hate the taliban. they are active in those african countries i mentioned, and the threat to europe hasn't gone away. in terms of counterterrorism, don't forget we've got the olympics coming up in france this summer. the threat to european cities and european communities is definitely still there. the radicalising effect of nine months plus of war in gaza has certainly helped isis to recruit in some areas, so it is one to watch.

just because we haven't heard from them in europe doesn't mean the threat is gone. the serbian prime minister has described a crossbow attack that wounded a police officer guarding the israeli embassy in belgrade as terrorism. but he suggested that it was an individual act which should not be attributed to any religion or nation. the attacker — who the authorities have said was serbian — was shot dead by the officer who was targeted. translation: there is no doubt this is an act _ translation: there is no doubt this is an act of _ translation: there is no doubt this is an act of terrorism, - translation: there is no doubt this is an act of terrorism, a - this is an act of terrorism, a terrorist act directed against the state of serbia and the member of the police service. balmoral castle has been the british royal family's scottish holiday home since the 19th century. and on monday members of the public will be able to see areas of the building no one outside the family and invited guests have seen before, as it opens

balmoral castle has been a scottish holiday home for the royal family since the 19th century. the casa's gardens and ballroom are already popular attractions but tonight king charles is opening its doors to allow guided tools of some of its private rooms for the first time. newly released photos give a flavour of what visitors can expect, including the grand entrance hall, featuring a statue of 11th century scottish king malcolm of callum moore. access to pages of the lobby and the library, king charles�*s personal study, which has hosted many dignitaries. tickets for the tours which run in august for, are priced at either £100 or £150, with afternoon tea. they sold out in just 2a hours. i afternoon tea. they sold out in just 24 hours— just 24 hours. i don't want to live just 24 hours. i don't want to give away — just 24 hours. i don't want to

give away too _ just 24 hours. i don't want to give away too much - just 24 hours. i don't want to give away too much but - just 24 hours. i don't want to give away too much but they| just 24 hours. i don't want to - give away too much but they can expect seeing art collections that nobody had seen before. we have an amazing selection of the edmund lancia paintings, history there, wonderful sculptures, and just that sense of history. sculptures, and 'ust that sense of history._ of history. the grand ballroom can also be — of history. the grand ballroom can also be explored. - of history. the grand ballroom can also be explored. it - can also be explored. it currently displays a collection of 22 watercolours, painted by king charles. the monarch is also personally planted new trees in the casa's gardens and commissioned a thistle maze. visitors will give the reaction to the tours. in visitors will give the reaction to the tours.— visitors will give the reaction to the tours. in the us, people are fascinated _ to the tours. in the us, people are fascinated by _ to the tours. in the us, people are fascinated by the _ to the tours. in the us, people are fascinated by the royals i are fascinated by the royals and i think people will definitely want to do it now that it definitely want to do it now thatitis definitely want to do it now that it is available. i definitely want to do it now that it is available.- that it is available. i think it is very _ that it is available. i think it is very interesting - that it is available. i think it is very interesting to i that it is available. i thinkl it is very interesting to see where _ it is very interesting to see where the king and his family lives — where the king and his family lives. ., , ., , ., , . lives. to be able to experience something _ lives. to be able to experience something like _ lives. to be able to experience something like this, _ lives. to be able to experience something like this, and - lives. to be able to experience | something like this, and hasn't been _ something like this, and hasn't been done _ something like this, and hasn't been done before, _ something like this, and hasn't been done before, it _ something like this, and hasn't been done before, it is - something like this, and hasn't been done before, it is a - something like this, and hasn't been done before, it is a goodl been done before, it is a good opportunitv _ been done before, it is a good opportunity. 1he— been done before, it is a good opportunity-— opportunity. the tour give the

ublic a opportunity. the tour give the public a rare _ opportunity. the tour give the public a rare glimpse - opportunity. the tour give the public a rare glimpse into - opportunity. the tour give the public a rare glimpse into the| public a rare glimpse into the private side of the royal family, while they are in holiday in aberdeenshire, and it's easy to see this as a place the late queen elizabeth ii was said to feel most at home. and some 200,000 people are expected over the weekend at the glastonbury festival. that is underway right now in pilton, in somerset. it was a sky full of stars for coldplay�*s glastonbury set with hollywood legend michaelj fox joining on guitar. they were also joined by little themes and the biggest cheer was reserved for michael] fox. hejoined was reserved for michael] fox. he joined coldplay to was reserved for michael] fox. hejoined coldplay to play guitar on their hit fix you.

don't we all wish we could have been there! hello, thanks forjoining me. let's see what the weather's got in store for the rest of the weekend. and here's the headline — for most of us, it's not looking too bad. some sunshine, but at times it will be cloudy. could be a few showers as well. now, recently there was a weather front across northern wales and northern england. it brought some damp weather on saturday. that should be mostly out of the way come sunday, as this ridge of high pressure tries to build across the uk. remnants of that weather front still visible in the morning across east anglia and the south—east, all the way to south—western parts of england. so quite cloudy, with some spits and spots of rain for a time. 16 in london. north of that, i think sunshine to greet us in the morning. through the morning into the afternoon, those cumulus clouds will be developing and then eventually spreading, so i think it is going to be quite a cloudy afternoon for many

of us during sunday. some showers as well, possible almost anywhere. your best bet for sunny skies is actually around coastal areas, almost anywhere, especially looking out to sea — blue skies. temperatures 20 in london, high teens further north. nothing spectacular, and actually similar temperatures and weather for the football in germany. 0k, onto the forecasts now for monday. another weather front approaches from the west. this is going to bring thick cloud and some outbreaks of rain initially to northern ireland, to scotland, the irish sea, and then eventually that weather front will move eastwards across the country. so i think most of us are in at least for a little bit of rain. a short spell of rain on monday, but come the afternoon, skies will brighten across western areas of the uk, so there will be some clearer skies towards the end of monday. it may take time for that weather front to clear the east coast. and then the azores high is still here on tuesday and indeed wednesday, but we're just on the edge of that high pressure, and often on the edge of high

pressures there's a lot of cloud. good chance of catching a shower, and that's pretty much what we've got on tuesday. i think your best bet for the dry, sunny weather will be further south—west on tuesday, for example in plymouth and in cardiff, whereas in the north—west of england, the chance of a few showers. so here's the week at a glance. if you want really warm weather, it's not so great because temperatures are below the average. if you like cloudy, changeable, cool weather, well, it's perfect for you. bye— bye.

voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. campaigning in the uk and has its closing stages with the general election just days away, the prime minister rishi sunak and the labor leader sir keir starmer has been highlighting their contrasting visions for the country. an adventure of a lifetime for coldplay fans, the headline the festival for record fifth time, country star taking the coveted

sunday legends lot.