Macron under fire over France 'civil war' warning

French President Emmanuel Macron came under strong criticism on Tuesday for warning a far-right or hard-left win in snap polls could spark a "civil war", with his opponents urging him not to scare the public.

France is preparing to vote on Sunday in the country's most polarising ballot in decades. Macron called the parliamentary polls after the far-right National Rally scored a runaway victory in European Parliament elections earlier this month.

The election is shaping up as a showdown between the far-right RN and the left-wing New Popular Front, which is dominated by the hard-left France Unbowed.

Macron warned on Monday that the programmes of the two "extremes" could spark a "civil war", accusing both the RN and France Unbowed of sowing tensions and dividing people.

Leaders of both left and right condemned his remarks.

Eric Ciotti, the leader of the conservative Republicans (LR), who sparked outrage among allies by personnaly agreeing an election pact with the RN, accused the French president of being irresponsible.

"This is a strategy of fear," he said, speaking on BFMTV-RMC.

RN heavyweight Marine Le Pen said Macron's argument was "weak" and showed "he thinks he's lost this election".

- Fighting for survival -

Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialists in the Senate, said Macron's remarks showed he was fighting for his political survival.

"We are faced with someone who no longer controls anything," he said.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of France Unbowed, also criticised Macron, saying on Monday night: "He's always there to set things on fire."

The three main camps -- left, far-right and centre -- are set for a key TV debate on Tuesday evening.

It will pit Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron's centrist Renaissance party against far-right RN party leader Bardella and Manuel Bompard of the left-wing New Popular Front.

Some polls have suggested the RN could win 35-36 percent in the first-round vote on Sunday, ahead of the left-wing alliance on 27-29.5 percent and Macron's centrists coming third on 19.5-22 percent.

A second round of voting will follow on July 7 in constituencies where no candidate takes more than 50 percent in the first round.