The Left Leads the French Elections, Macron's Party Second

In an unexpected development, initial estimates of the voting results in the French legislative elections showed that the left-wing alliance came in first in the second round and President Emmanuel Macron's camp came in second, ahead of the far right, but without any bloc obtaining an absolute majority in the National Assembly.

The National Rally (far right) enters the new National Assembly with force, but remains far from power, recording a disappointing result compared to what it recorded during the first round.

The "New Popular Front" (left), composed of parties that differ on a number of issues, achieved a surprise by coming in first place, with expectations of winning 172 to 215 seats.

Macron's camp has shown resilience a month after the president took the risk of calling early elections, with the expectation that it will win 150 to 180 seats, compared to 250 in June 2022.

As soon as the initial estimates were released, the leader of the French radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, said on Sunday that the prime minister should "go" and that the new Popular Front, to which his party belongs, should "rule".

For his part, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, Jordan Bardella, on Sunday criticized the "coalition of shame" that deprived the French of a "policy of recovery".

Commenting on the election results on Sunday, the leader of the far-right, Marine Le Pen, considered that "our victory is only postponed. The tide is rising. It did not rise enough this time, but it continues to rise", adding that "I have enough experience not to be disappointed by a result in which we doubled the number of our deputies".

For his part, Macron called for "caution" in analyzing the results of the legislative elections to determine who could form a government, considering that the centrist bloc is still very "alive" after his seven years in power, according to what his circles reported on Sunday evening.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Sunday evening that he would submit his resignation on Monday, explaining that he is ready to remain in his position "as long as the duty requires", especially since France is hosting the Olympic Games soon.

The final turnout in the second round on Sunday is estimated at 67% according to the Ipsos and Opinionway polling institutes, 67.1% according to Elabe and 66.5% by Ifop, compared to 66.7% in the first round. This will be a record level since the early elections in 1997.