France election live: first-round results give far-right alliance 33% of vote, as PM warns Le Pen at ‘gates of power’ | France

The gains by the far-right National Rally (RN) were described as staggering by pollsters and political analysts. The party is on track to become the dominant force in parliament, whether or not it reaches an absolute majority of 289 seats.

The party took more than 10m votes in the first round of parliament elections on Sunday night — more than double its 4.2m votes in the parliament elections only two years ago in 2022. It also considerably increased its showing from the 7.7m votes it took in European elections only a few weeks ago.

The RN’s vote share of 33% was even greater than the high score of Emmanuel Macron’s centrists in parliament in 2017 after Macron swept to power.

Meanwhile, Macron’s centrists are now facing what one pollster called “catastrophe”. They are relegated to third place – behind the left – and are set to lose more than half their seats, shrinking from 250 to less than 100. “It’s a defeat,” said Macron’s economy minister Bruno Le Maire, speaking of “a lot of sadness”.

Jon Henley

A national vote share is extremely difficult to translate into a projected number of seats in the assemblée nationale. That’s because the final outcome will depend on the results in the constituencies. While pollsters issue seat estimates, France’s polling watchdog does not endorse them.

Here’s a guide to what comes next as voters gear up for the decisive second round of voting on 7 July, when France could decide to give control of its government to the far-right, anti-immigrant party for the first time in its history.

Read on below:

The French election took second place to an exclusive interview with UK Labour leader Keir Starmer on the Guardian’s front page but still featured in the second slot with the headline, “Far right takes lead in French election”.

The headline on French daily Le Figaro’s front page reads, “The battle is on between Bardella and Mélenchon” while the editorial below is headed, “French tragedy”.

French daily Libération splashes on “After the shock: form the block”

The Wall Street Journal has a picture of a smiling Marine Le Pen and headlines, “Far Right Wins First Round of French Parliament Election”.

The UK’s Daily Telegraph, writes “Le Pen: I have wiped out Macron”

Britain’s Financial Times also features a large picture of Le Pen and the headline “Le Pen’s far right defeats Macron in first round of French snap election”.

The far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies reached 33% of the national popular vote in the first round of parliamentary elections, the interior ministry has said.

The leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance came in second with 28% while President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together coalition reached 20%, the ministry said.

The result marks the first time the RN has won more than 20% of the vote in a parliamentary election and puts the party within reach of forming the country’s first ever far-right government.

However the final results and the exact makeup of the 577-seat parliament are far from certain and the RN’s chances of winning power will depend on the political dealmaking made by its rivals over the coming days, ahead of Sunday’s second round.

In the past, the traditional right and leftwing parties have struck agreements to stand down candidates from the runoffs to avoid splitting the vote against the RN. But the tactical voting strategy known as the “republican front” to block the RN is less certain than ever.

The leader of the NFP, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, said the leftist alliance would withdraw all its candidates who came third in the first round, saying: “Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.”

In a written statement, Macron called on voters to rally behind candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic”.

But based on his recent declarations while that would include candidates representing the NFP’s more moderate leftwing parties it would exclude candidates from Mélenchon’s France Unbowed.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN, said President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp had been “almost wiped out”.

Speaking after the polls had closed, Le Pen said French people had shown “in an unambiguous vote … their wish to turn the page on seven years of the disdainful and corrosive [presidency]” of Macron.

Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old RN party president, said he was ready to be prime minister – if his party wins an absolute majority.

He said he wanted to be the “prime minister of all French”, respectful of the constitution in a “cohabitation” with President Emmanuel Macron, but “uncompromising about the policies we will implement”.

“The French people have handed down a clear verdict,” he said.

“Cohabitation” is the word used by the French when the presidency and the prime minister are in opposing camps.

Sixty-five MPs won their seats outright in the first round, meaning they won more than 50% of the vote in their electorate; these included far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was re-elected with 58% of the vote in Pas-de-Calais.

The Socialist leader, Olivier Faure, was also re-elected in Seine-et-Marne in the first round.

Other prominent figures to be re-elected included Sandrine Rousseau, an economist and “eco-feminist”; Manuel Bompard, a senior member of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI); and Mathilde Panot, LFI president.

Prime minister Gabriel Attal came first with 44% of votes in his electorate of Hauts-de-Seine, but will face a run off as will former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, who came second to a National Rally candidate in Calvados with just 29%.

In northern France, one of the most popular figures on the French left — the head of the Communist party, Fabien Roussel — was knocked out in the first round by the far-right National Rally candidate, Guillaume Florquin.

Former Socialist president Francois Hollande, who surprised voters by announcing his candidacy just two weeks ago, also faces a runoff but won the most votes with 38% in the seat of Corrèze.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the French election results with me, Helen Livingstone.

President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance and the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition have called for tactical voting after the far-right National Rally (RN) won the most votes in a first round of parliamentary elections.

Prime minister Gabriel Attal, who is likely to be forced to resign after the second round, warned that the far right was now at the “gates of power” and said the RN should not get a “single vote” in the second round.

“We have seven days to spare France from catastrophe,” said Raphael Glucksmann, a key figure in the left-wing alliance.

If the RN wins an absolute majority – still seen as a steep challenge – it will be the first time in French history that a far-right party has won a parliamentary election and formed a government and Macron will have to share power with the far-right. If the RN wins the most seats but not a majority, Macron could find himself with a hung parliament unable to govern the EU’s second biggest economy and its top military power.

The French president stunned and bewildered his own government and supporters with his decision this month to dissolve parliament and call snap elections after his centrist, pro-European grouping was trounced by the RN in EU elections.

As the first results came in on Sunday, he insisted in a statement on “the importance of this vote for all our compatriots and the desire to clarify the political situation”.

Here are the key developments so far:

• Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally won about 34% of the vote in the first round of legislative elections, exit polls showed, putting it in reach of becoming the biggest political force in the French parliament.

• The New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, won about 29% of the vote, while President Emmanuel Macron’s Together alliance won between 20.5% and 23% according to exit polls.

• Nevertheless, national estimates for the first round may not reflect the final breakdown of seats in the national assembly, which depends on races in constituencies.

• Turnout was very high, with pollster Ipsos estimating that 65.8% of eligible voters cast ballots.

• Speaking after polls closed, Le Pen said French people had shown “in an unambiguous vote … their wish to turn the page on seven years of the disdainful and corrosive [presidency]” of Macron.

• Far-right figures from across Europe congratulated the National Rally.

• Sixty-five MPs were elected in the first round – a high number. These included 38 MPs for the far-right National Rally and its alliance with Eric Ciotti of Les Républicains. That figure is more than double the number Le Pen had said she expected.

• Pressure was mounting during the evening from left and centrist figures for tactical voting in the second round next Sunday.

• Thousands took part in street demonstrations against the far right, including at the Place de la Republique in Paris, where barricades were set on fire and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard left France Unbowed party, addressed the crowd.

• Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and a Macron ally, said “not one single vote” should go to the National Rally. “The stakes are clear: to prevent the National Rally from having an absolute majority,” he said.

• Mélenchon said the left alliance would withdraw all its candidates who came third in the first round, saying: “Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.”

• However it is not so clear that Macron’s centrist alliance will do the same. In a written statement, Macron called on voters to rally behind candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic”, which, based on his recent declarations, would include the NFP’s more moderate leftwing parties but exclude candidates from France Unbowed.

• Attal had been due to sign a decree on Monday morning introducing new limits on unemployment benefits – a policy that had been attacked by the far right and the left – but decided to suspend the decree.