Opponents of French far right look to build a united front and keep Le Pen’s National Rally from power

Too early to say if centrist and left-wing pact can work as Macron’s election gamble in danger of backfiring badly

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen arrives at her headquarters in Paris yesterday after her party surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections. Photo: AP

Michel Rose

Opponents of France’s far right sought to build a united front to block the path to government of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) yesterday, after the party made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election.

The RN and its allies won Sunday’s round with 33pc of the vote, followed by a left-wing bloc with 28pc and well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s broad alliance of centrists, who scored just 22pc, official results showed.