For the first time, the far-right National Rally has topped the legislative polls in France, nearly doubling its support, while President Emmanuel Macron has been left reeling.
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 on Sunday, according to results published by the French interior ministry.
The National Rally gained just over 33.1% of votes cast, according to near-final data released by the interior ministry this morning, about three percentage points behind opinion poll predictions last week but still the clear winner.
The result represents a significant success for Le Pen’s party, formerly called the National Front.
For the first time, the party has come top in the first-round of voting after nearly doubling its support since France last elected its National Assembly in 2022.
It might not be enough to secure a majority in the 577-seat lower chamber, with pollster Ipsos projecting that Le Pen and her allies from the Republicans party may get 230 to 280 seats.
The snap vote called by President Emmanuel Macron after a disastrous performance in EU elections on 9 June has failed to turn the tide, and his centrist Ensemble party seems set to lose a significant number of seats.
