Exit polls in France have shown the left wing New Popular Front is on course to win the snap parliamentary election - staving off the threat of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally.
The French public started heading to the polls at 8am local time today with stayed open until 8pm this evening. But the democratic event has already been marred by widespread rioting, with major high street retailers barricading their stores with wooden boards and shutters in preparation.
The exit polls have now shown The New Popular Front are tipped to take a majority with between 172-205 seats. Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble party is expected to receive around 150-175 seats, with RN and its allies are expecting to secure 115-150 seats. The NFP would need to form a minority government in the National Assembly, with 289 seats needed for an absolute majority.
The shock results contradict early predictions that Marine Le Penn's National Rally previously predicted to win a majority. If Mr Macron was defeated with a landslide, he would have presided over defence and foreign policy. But he would lose the power to set the domestic agenda, from economic policy to security.
Avoiding so-called “Cohabitation” – a lame duck President working with an opposition government – will come as a huge relief to Mr Macron, but he still has massive problems ahead.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, a former presidential candidate and one of the main leaders of the NPF, said: "The French people have voted with a conscience. "Our people have clearly ruled out the worst solution to our problems."
Mr Melenchon welcomed "a result which had seemed impossible", adding: "This evening the RN is far from having an absolute majority. This is a huge relief for millions of people who make up the new France."
Calling on Mr. Macron to appoint a new prime minister from the alliance of left-wing parties, Mr Melenchon said: "The president has a duty to call on the new Popular Front to govern, it is ready for it." Victory for the NPF followed even Mr Macron calling for a ‘Republican Front’ against the RN – pulling candidates out of key constituencies so as to leave a single anti-RN one with a clear run at victory.
It comes after Emmanuel Macron had taken a huge gamble calling the election just three weeks after Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally trounced his party in European elections. It left many of his allies furious and the first-round vote on June 30 saw major gains for the National Rally, potentially putting the far right in a position to govern France for the first time since the Second World War.
Final results are not expected until late Sunday or early Monday in the snap election that was called just four weeks ago in a huge gamble for Macron. The deeply unpopular president lost control of parliament, according to the projections. The far right National Rally drastically increased the number of seats it holds in parliament but fell far short of expectations.
The snap elections in this nuclear-armed nation have potential impact on the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe's economic stability. They're almost certain to undercut Macron for the remaining three years of his presidency.
The government has deployed 30,000 police on voting day. Left-wing rioters are enraged by the rise of Marine Le Pen's National Rally, and police are locking down several central areas of Paris where it's expected that protests could erupt. Among them are Rue de Rivoli, the Opera area and the Champs-Elysees.
France's Interior Minister said officers will be deployed across the whole of France. Five thousand of them will be in Paris to deal with the potential unrest. In yesterday's first round of the election, the RN netted 33 per cent of the vote, while the left-wing New Popular Front alliance secured 28 per cent. Emmanuel Macron's centrists trailed behind with just 20 per cent.
Le Pen's RN wanted to give French citizens ‘national preference’ over immigrants for jobs and housing. It also wanted to abolish the automatic right of citizenship to the children of immigrants who are born in France, while also banning dual nationals from jobs that have a sensitive security profile.
What is certain is the RN vote increase – they only had 7 MPs in 2017, and 89 by 2022 – will still act as a springboard for Ms Le Pen to challenge for the French presidency in 2027. Mr Macron will be forced to step down in that year whatever happens, as French presidents are only allowed two terms. Ms Le Pen has come runner up to Mr Macron in the last two presidential elections, but her vote share has increased considerably every time.
The election comes as Paris is about to host the Summer Olympic Games. Pierre Lubin, a 45-year-old business manager, earlier said: “This is a concern for us. Will it be a technical government or a coalition government made up of (various) political forces?"
Whatever happens next, Valerie Dodeman, a 55-year-old legal expert, said she is pessimistic about the future of France. She said: “No matter what happens, I think this election will leave people disgruntled on all sides.”