Paris — A far-right, anti-immigration party is in reach of becoming the biggest political force in France after the first of two rounds of voting in parliamentary elections drew a historically high turnout. The first-round results in the French election are the latest evidence of surging support for the far-right in Europe, but the real test of that trend nationally will come when France opens the polls for the second, decisive round of voting in one week.

French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble by calling the snap election this year, and he’s now issued a battle cry urging the nation’s voters to come out in force on July 7 to stop the far-right, which made its best showing ever in round one, from rising to the very top of government in round two.

Turnout was unusually high as many voters said they either wanted to block the far-right, or just get rid of Macron’s government.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her National Rally party had “virtually wiped out” Macron’s centrist power base in the first-round Sunday vote. National Rally took a third of the votes in that round.

Macron called these elections hoping to rally voters against the far-right, after parties like Le Pen’s fared well in Europe-wide elections for the European parliament, which governs the European Union, in the spring.

“President Macron made a colossal error in judgment,” political analyst Douglas Webber told CBS News. Webber said the first round results show Macron could be forced to share power with National Rally — a party that is anti-immigration, wants to roll back the power of the European Union, and has even threatened to pull France out of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.

If the National Rally wins enough votes in the second round, party president Jordan Bardella could find himself in the country’s second-top job, as prime minister. He wants to pull back on France’s support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion.

“That would be a very good result for Vladimir Putin, a very bad result for Ukraine and President Zelenskyy,” said Webber.

That outcome is not a foregone conclusion. The French have a history of voting more ideologically in the first round — “with their hearts,” as the saying goes — but then more tactically, “with their heads,” in the second round.

Macron and the thousands of left-wing supporters who gathered in central Paris on Sunday to voice their concern at the far-right’s performance will be hoping that’s the case, and that the actual gains in parliamentary seats won’t mirror the windfall seen for Le Pen and Bardella’s party in round-one.

“Right now, we have big problems with the right wing,” said one young woman before the results came in. “We want more democracy, you know, we don’t want people to feel afraid or scared about living in France.”

But the political winds across much of the continent have been blowing decidedly to the right for more than a year. Should the far-right parties win big in France on July 7, Webber warned it could leave a power “vacuum at the heart of Europe,” which has been dominated for years by the influence of its two biggest economies, France and Germany.

“No one, or no other group of countries, could conceivably fill the role that’s historically been played by France and Germany,” he said. “That’s, of course, the main reason why so many people, observers, are extremely worried.”

Among the worried Europeans voicing their angst on Monday was Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said the first-round results in France indicated a “very dangerous” political turn.

“This is all really starting to smell very dangerous,” said Tusk, who suggested without offering specific evidence that “Russian influence” was behind the rise of “many parties of the radical right in Europe.”

“Even the complete victory of the radical right of Ms. Le Pen’s camp does not signal the loss of power by the center represented by President Macron,” Tusk told reporters. “But it is a very clear sign of what is happening not only in France, but also in some other countries, also in Western Europe.”

Tusk said France “will be forced to confront these radical forces,” and he warned that, “foreign forces and enemies of Europe are engaged in this process, hiding behind these movements.”

Macron has called on voters from across the political spectrum to block the far-right’s precipitous rise with their votes in the final round on Sunday.

One California man is showing how small words can make a huge impact in people’s daily lives. 

Every school morning for years, Dick Kazan has been standing on the street in Palos Verdes Estates offering something nice to say. He wishes for everyone — particularly children on their way to school — to have a good day.

“Everybody, no exceptions, wants to feel important. I want them to feel important,” the 79-year-old said. “I want them to feel beautiful. I want them to feel needed. And I want them to feel safe.”

What started as a simple effort to help direct traffic and meet his neighbors has turned into a labor of love over the last seven years.

“I get a feeling of love … I know a lot of these people are moved by me,” Kazan said. “I make it a point to learn the names because if you wanna make people feel important, you’ve got to learn their names.”

If he misses a day, people often notice. But it’s not only on school mornings that Kazan is spreading his simple, yet important message. He lets people know they matter, in his own neighborhood by greeting people at supermarkets or in the gym.

Many people have shown their appreciation back. Kazan has letters and notes on the wall of his home office. One reads: “Dear kind man, I was having a rough morning, dealt with not-so-friendly people, but you made my day when you surprised me and told me, ‘You, too, have a nice day.'” 

Kazan explained the letter, saying he saw a woman coming out from a store who appeared upset. 

“I just came up to her with a smile. I went into shop. When I came back, she’d scribbled that on a napkin,” he said.

Alongside the notes are family photos, but missing are the awards and plaques of a businessman and a company founder to signify the person he used to be. Kazan said he did not have the best childhood and was determined to be financially successful, but it came at a different type of cost.

 “I made a fortune and I was not a very nice person. I was a really driven person. I was an honest man, but a really driven man, and people didn’t enjoy me, to be perfectly frank,” he said.

Kazan worked in computer and high technology leasing, saying the company had “about $2 billion.” On his 46th birthday, he made a personal pivot. His home office now is the world headquarters of the “Kazan Today,” which is his online newsletter that includes “recipes for success” and little droplets of inspiration.

The transition, Kazan said, took time. He pointed to an unlikely tapestry of acclaimed men, including Michelangelo, John D. Rockefeller, George Bernard Shaw and Gandhi, that he said gave him guidance.

“With Gandhi, at times I found myself lost in the process. So did he. Michelangelo, he says to us, the greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it’s too low and we reach it. That’s most people!”

They led him to share a simple message, wishing everyone a good day.

His message resonated deeply with Philipp Hartwell, an investment banker who wrote to CBS News contributor David Begnaud about how his Palos Verdes estates neighborhood in suburban Los Angeles has been made better by Kazan.

“I just wanted people to know that there are still good people here,” Hartwell said. “And that you start the kids off, and whether the kids appreciate it, I’m sure the parents do, that you’re starting them off on a good note.”

Kazan said while his words are seemingly small, his old self would never share simple messages of kindness.

“He would say, ‘What is wrong with you? You gave up that great big house,'” Kazan said. “He thought in terms of money, drove Porsches, that Dick Kazan. And he was always in a hurry and he always had his watch out for any meeting or whatever. If this wasn’t making money, he wouldn’t do it.”

But now at 79 years old, Kazan has different thoughts on his current self and the big message behind his small words.

“It’s the most important thing he’s ever done, aside from being a husband and a father.”