France elections live: Exit polls show leftist New Popular Front in the lead, with
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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.
In the first round of votes, Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition came third, beaten by the leftist New Popular Front in second and National Rally on top.
Follow our live coverage of the latest news around France’s election below.
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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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