France’s left-wing New Popular Front coalition is leading in the second round of voting, according to exit polls.
The unexpected result puts France on course for a hung parliament, with a leftist alliance unexpectedly taking the top spot ahead of the far right in a major upset that would prevent Marine Le Pen’s National Rally from running the government.
The outcome, if confirmed, would leave France’s parliament divided in three big groups with hugely different platforms.Centrist president Emmanuel Macron’s party appears to be polling in second.
He called the snap election after his party suffered a crushing defeat in EU elections, while he has come in for criticism from voters over a cost-of-living crisis and the perception he is out of touch.
Voting finished at 8pm local time (7pm BST), and now nationwide projections – likely to be fairly reliable – suggest that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally has been pushed into third place.
The shock result prompted prime minister Gabriel Attal to announce that he will resign on Monday, while the final result was unknown as France late on Sunday night as the count rolled into the early hours of Monday morning.
Riot police were deployed across the country amid fears of violent protests, with unrest breaking out in Nantes, and waves of celebration and protest elsewhere.
Yahoo News has ended its live coverage for the day. Read below for the key moments from the day.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER46 updates
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Disaster averted, Macron still faces trouble ahead
Emmanuel Macron may have avoided the far right coming to power in France, but the country still faces an uncertain future – with many pointing the finger at him.
So what challenges are facing the French president, and what could happen in the coming days?
Here’s more from AFP.
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‘We were so scared’: France’s centre and leftwing voters breathe sigh of relief
Left wing voters in France had resigned themselves to defeat after a win for National Rally was predicted.
But many are now breathing a sigh of relief after the shock exit poll news that the far-left coalition is predicted to win the election.
Read their reaction in the Guardian.
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How it all went wrong for Le Pen’s National Rally
National Rally had been all set to celebrate – even laying out champagne ready for the election exit poll.
But rather than jubilant partying, the party was left licking its wounds after being beaten by both the left-win coalition and Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance.
So what went wrong? Find out more from the Telegraph.
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Euro falls after French exit poll points to hung parliament
France’s exit poll results prompted the Euro to fall. (Reuters) The euro fell on Sunday after exit polls for the final round of the French parliamentary elections pointed to a hung parliament, with the left wing New Popular Front grouping unexpectedly set to win the most seats.
Europe’s single currency was last down 0.3% at $1.08, although volumes remained thin as early trading in Asia got underway. It also dipped against sterling and the yen.
Read more on this from Reuters.
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This result might be the biggest surprise in the history of French elections
The result of the exit poll in the French election has sent shockwaves through France and beyond – with the predicted far right victory not becoming a reality.
But while many are breathing a sigh of relief, others are concerned at the prospect of a power struggle given France will now have a hung parliament.
Read more from Sky News on what this election result means for France.
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French political leaders react to election result
First Secretary of the French left-wing Socialist Party Olivier Faure delivers a speech after the announcement of initial results. (Getty) Reaction has been pouring in from French political leaders to the shock exit poll news in the snap election.
The country is now on course for a hung parliament with the left-wing New Popular Front saying Macron should call on it to govern.
Here is the reaction from political leaders in France, from Reuters.
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Marine Le Pen remains defiant despite exit poll news
Marine Le Pen has reacted to the news that the far right has been beaten into third place in the French election, with a left-wing coalition leading. (AP) Marine Le Pen, who co-leads National Rally with Jordan Bardella, said the party’s victory had “only been delayed”.
Le Pen, who has failed in a bid to be French president three times, was cheered by supporters as she reacted to the exit poll news.
But she remained defiant, saying she “sees the seeds of tomorrow’s victory in today’s result” – despite her party being pushed into third place.
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Prime minister Gabriel Attal says he will resign – while Macron says he will wait to make any decision
France’s prime minister Gabriel Attal said he will resign. (Getty) French prime minister Gabriel Attal has said he will resign following the exit poll results putting a leftist coalition in the lead in the election.
His announcement came as Macron’s office said he would ‘wait’ to make decisions on a new government.
A statement from the French presidency said Macron is analysing the latest election results and will wait for the full picture to emerge in parliament before making any decisions.
It said: “The president, as guarantor of our institutions, will respect the choice of French people.”
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Who are the New Popular Front?
What is the New Popular Front? The New Popular Front is left-wing alliance of political parties launched in response to the snap election.
The coalition brings together France Unbowed, the Socialist Party, The Ecologists, the French Communist Party, Génération.s, Place Publique, and several other left-leaning parties and groups.
Its name is a reference to the old Popular Front – an alliance which ruled France in the 1930s to prevent fascism from winning a majority.
The parties in the New Popular Front are not necessarily closely aligned, with differences in their ideologies, but agreed to form a coalition to prevent the far right from winning the election.
The Front’s aims include scrapping the pension and immigration reforms introduced in recent years, as well as increasing public sector salaries and welfare benefits, and freezing the price of basic food items and energy, all funded through a wealth tax and by raising income tax on the highest earners.
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Bardella blames Macron and ‘dishonourable alliance’ for defeat
Jordan Bardella has reacted to the news that his party is not leading in the French election. (Reuters) National Rally leader Jordan Bardella blamed Macron for pushing France into “uncertainty and instability”.
Speaking to supporters, he said a “dishonourable alliance” had “deprived the French people” of a victory by National Rally, adding: “These alliances throw France into the arms of the far left of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.”
“Everyone understands today that the arrangements orchestrated by the Élysée.. won’t go anywhere,” he said.
But he said victories for National Rally in the European elections and the first round of the parliamentary election are the “cornerstones of tomorrow’s victory”, adding: “For months now a wind of hope has picked up and it will never stop blowing.”
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Leader of largest party in left-wing coalition: ‘We saved France’
Jean-Luc Melenchon delivers a speech on election night in France. (Getty) Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical left France Unbowed party, which is the largest in the left-wing coalition, addressed supporters following the exit poll, saying Macron should call on the New Popular Front to govern.
He said the results were the result of a “magnificent mobilisation effort” and bring “immense relief for a majority of people in our country”.
“The president has to bow and admit this is a defeat,” he said. “The prime minister needs to leave.
“The president has the power and the duty to call the NFP to govern. The NFP is ready.”
He said: “The elements on the left are united and have shown that they were able to deal with this extraordinary historical situation.
“Once again, it saved the Republic, we saved the Republic.”
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Cheers from left-wing supporters as election results revealed
Supporters of left-wing New Popular Front coalition react to news that they are leading in the French election. (Getty) There were cheers and elation from supporters of the left-wing New Popular Front coalition after it was projected that they are leading in the French election.
While many expected the far right National Rally to be in the lead, shock exit poll results put the leftist alliance in the lead, followed by Emmanuel Macron’s allies.
But with 289 seats needed for a majority in France’s national assembly, the country is still set for a hung parliament.
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Exit polls put National Rally in third place – with left-wing New Popular Front leading
The polls have closed in France and it appears that the predictions that National Rally could win the country’s snap election were wide of the mark.
According to exit polls, the left-wing New Popular Front is leading, followed by Emmanuel Macron’s allies in second, with National Rally pushed into third place.
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How do France’s snap elections work and what comes next?
Votes have been cast in France’s snap election. (Getty) Results in France’s snap parliamentary elections are imminent, with a few possible scenarios set to emerge.
So what are the possible outcomes, and what happens next?
Find out how France’s snap election works from AP here.
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Only 15 minutes left of voting in French election
French president Emmanuel Macron, centre, and French First Lady Brigitte Macron, left, vote in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. (Reuters) We are only 15 minutes away from the end of voting in the second round of the French parliamentary election.
As in the UK, we are expecting the results of a nationwide exit poll to be published almost immediately after voting is finished.
France does not have to wait long before its future is decided.
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What are Marine Le Pen’s plans for France?
Marine Le Pen hopes to put her plan for France into action. (AFP via Getty Images) After Marine Le Pen’s National Rally walloped Emmanuel Macron in the first round of voting in the French elections, there is a real chance France could be governed by a hard-Right party for the first time since the Second World War.
Then, France’s collaborationist Vichy regime claimed authority over the country in an armistice deal with Nazi Germany.
Ms Le Pen has spent more than a decade trying to detoxify her National Rally party and turning it from a movement that once celebrated Nazi collaboration to a genuine electoral force.
Read more on her plans from The Telegraph here.
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What happened in the first round of France’s parliamentary election?
Polling station workers begin counting ballots during the second round of elections in Schiltgheim, eastern France. (AP Photo) Voting in the second round of parliamentary elections is almost finished, but what happened in the first round?
National Rally, the far-right party led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, surged to first place in the first round of legislative elections last Sunday.
The National Rally gained just over 33.1% of votes cast, according about three percentage points behind opinion poll predictions but still the clear winner.
The result represented a significant success for Le Pen’s party, formerly called the National Front.
Read more from Euronews here.
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Who is Jordan Bardella, the poster boy for France’s far-right?
Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally party. (Reuters) Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of France’s far-right National Rally who is eyeing the post of prime minister, has helped rejuvenate the image of a party long tainted by racism and anti-Semitism.
On his watch, the National Rally of three-time former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has gone from strength to strength, achieving record scores in this month’s European elections and winning the first round of legislative polls on Sunday.
But who is he? Read more here from AFP.
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Organiser of Paris Olympics keeps focus on Games, not politics
Preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Getty Images) The chief organiser of the Paris Olympics says he is focused on preparing for the Games later this month rather than the political turmoil gripping France.
Tony Estanguet, president of the committee organising the Olympics and Paralympics, was asked whether the stated values of Paris 2024 and its motto “Games Wide Open” were consistent with the agenda of the far-right National Rally (RN) party, which topped snap parliamentary polls at the weekend.
“I want us to respect this major democratic moment and we need to stay in our place so that French people can enjoy these Games which they can’t wait to see,” he told reporters during a visit to the Olympic village earlier this week.
Read the full story from RFI here
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Explainer-France’s political alliances and their election pledges
French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave their local polling station. (Getty Images) France’s political parties have scrambled to form political alliances after President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise move to call a parliamentary election, reshaping the political landscape into three large blocs.
From the far-right National Rally to the leftwing New Popular Front and Macron’s centrist alliance called ‘Together’, here is an overview of the campaign pledges made ahead of Sunday’s second voting round.
Read the full story from Reuters here
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Results in overseas French territories coming in
A voter casts their ballot at a polling station at the Ko We Kara cultural centre in Noumea, in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. (AFP via Getty Images) People have voted in French overseas territories and some of the results have already been announced.
In New Caledonia, a Pacific territory, a pro-independence Indigenous Kanak candidate won a seat in France’s parliament.
Emmanuel Tjibaou is the first pro-independence candidate to win a seat in the national assembly since 1986.
On the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, four left-wing candidates held off National Rally.
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Shopkeepers put up barricades in fear of post-election riots
Shops are being boarded up in anticipation of post-election rioting, reports France 24.
“We’re a little afraid of having everything stolen or ransacked. Theft is one thing, but if they ransack our store it’s complicated, we won’t have any more work. That will be an issue,” said sales assistant Mélanie Giaconella, who works in Grenoble.
Protesters filled the streets of Paris after National Rally made historic gains in the first round of elections last Sunday, some of whom smashed shop windows and set fire to bins.
Pedestrians walk past a boarded up shop at Place de la Republique in Paris. (Getty Images) A worker barricades a shop ahead of tonight’s election results. (Getty Images) A shop in Lyon is boarded up to protect against potential rioting. (Getty Images) -
France election 2024: Everything you need to know
The National Rally’s Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. (Getty Images) France goes to the polls on Sunday for the second round of its most crucial election in decades.
The hard-Right National Rally (RN) topped the first round of voting last month with 33 per cent, while the Left-wing New Popular Front alliance came second with 28 per cent.
Together, Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition, came a distant third with around 20 per cent.
Read the full story from the Telegraph here
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Voices from France’s parliamentary election
French prime minister Gabriel Attal waits to vote in Vanves, outside Paris. (Alamy) Following are some views of some voters as France voted in a parliamentary election on Sunday that could see the far-right National Rally (RN) emerge as the dominant political force.
Centrist president Emmanuel Macron called a snap election after his ticket was trounced by the RN in European Parliament elections last month, a move apparently aimed at wrong-footing the party.
“I’m mad at the government and in particular at the president that they have taken this irresponsible risk,” said Frederic Maillard, a doctor from the central town of Tours.
Read the full story from Reuters here
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‘Our backs are against the wall’: French grassroots mobilise against far right
Protesters in Paris hold placards reading “Ma France à moi c’est pas la leur, celle qui vote RN” (“My France is not theirs, the one that votes RN”). (Alamy) The truck rumbled through the streets of Montpellier, eliciting insults and bursts of applause as it made its way through the French city. As it rolled past onlookers, the giant screens on its sides scrolled through various pieces of legislation that the far-right National Rally had voted against, from measures to combat domestic and sexual violence to providing meals and school supplies for children in need.
It was one of dozens of grassroots efforts that have sprung up in recent weeks as France hurtles towards the second round of snap parliamentary elections that could see Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant party form a government in a historic first.
“This is the country we love. It’s built us up; it’s made us who we are,” said Akli Alliouat, one of the organisers behind the Montpellier truck. “And I find it hard to accept that this France of ours is tipping into hatred, contempt and inequality.”
Read the full article about how activist groups have sprung up across France to defeat National Rally on the Guardian here
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How could a National Rally government affect Channel crossings?
A group migrants being brought into Dover, from a Border Force vessel. (Alamy) While they have no shortage of ideological differences, Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has said his government would be ready to work with a National Rally-led France on Channel crossings should they get into power.
“That’s what serious government is about,” the UK’s new prime minister said.
Asked in 2023 how Britain and France could work together on this issue of asylum, Marine Le Pen indicated her priority would be the stop asylum seekers coming to France in the first place.
“Britain wants to protect its borders and therefore prevent illegal immigrants from entering the UK. They happen to come from France,” she said, according to the Telegraph.
“We have to have the capacity, Great Britain and France bilaterally, to be able to go and see the countries from which these illegal immigrants originate to make joint flights, to send the illegal immigrants back to their country of origin.”
However, political scientist Douglas Webber told Yahoo News last week that “from a technical perspective” he is not sure there’s much more the French police can do, particularly as France has a deficit of €154bn (£131bn)
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What time will we find out the results?
A French voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Moissac in the south of France. (Alamy) Voting is due to end at 8pm local time (7pm BST), at which point nationwide projections will be published by pollsters based on a partial vote count.
Historically, these poll results have been fairly reliable, but official results will gradually be announced throughout the evening.
France is known for its fast and efficient vote counting, meaning we could potentially see final results by the end of the night.
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France faces three ‘radically opposed’ visions for nation
People queue to vote during the second round of the French legislative elections. (AP) As he walked towards his polling station in the affluent town of Conflans Sainte-Honorine, west of Paris, one voter summarised the sense of division in France.
“The country is facing three radically opposed views of society”, said retiree Olivier Grisal as he headed to vote with his wife.
“There’s the far right, there is Macronism which in my view is also dangerous and has dictatorial tendencies and then there’s the left which is also not great,” he said.
Raphael Glucksmann, a member of European Parliament who led France’s leftist ticket in last month’s EU elections, struck a similar tone last week.
He told France Inter radio: “France is on the cliff-edge and we don’t know if we’re going to jump.”
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