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The Guardian - UK
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Helen Livingstone and Lili Bayer in Brussels (earlier)

French election: thousands protest far-right results in Paris – as it happened

Emmanuel Macron Marine Le Pen National Rally France Jordan Bardella New Popular Front RN
Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen after her Rassemblement National party was projected to have got a 34.2% share of the vote in the first round of parliamentary elections. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Closing summary

This blog is closing soon but we’ll back in a few hours with all the latest updates. In the meantime, here’s a roundup of the key developments:

  • Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally won about 34% of the vote in the first round of legislative election, exit polls showed, putting it in reach of becoming the biggest political force in the French parliament.

  • The New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 29% of the vote, the exit polls showed, while President Emmanuel Macron’s Together alliance was on about 20.5%-23%.

  • Nevertheless, national estimates for the first round may not reflect the final breakdown of seats in the national assembly, which depends on races in constituencies.

  • Turnout was very high, with pollster Ipsos estimating that 65.8% of eligible voters cast ballots.

  • Speaking after polls closed, Le Pen said French people had shown “in an unambiguous vote … their wish to turn the page on seven years of the disdainful and corrosive [presidency]” of Macron.

  • Far-right figures from across Europe congratulated the National Rally.

  • Sixty-five MPs were elected in the first round – a high number. These included 38 MPs for the far-right National Rally and its alliance with Eric Ciotti of Les Républicains. That figure is more than double the number Le Pen had said she expected.

  • Pressure was mounting during the evening from left and centrist figures for tactical voting in the second round next Sunday.

  • Thousands took part in street demonstrations against the far right, including at the Place de la Republique in Paris, where barricades were set on fire and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard left France Unbowed party, addressed the crowd.

  • Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and a Macron ally, said “not one single vote” should go to the National Rally. “The stakes are clear: to prevent the National Rally from having an absolute majority,” he said.

  • Mélenchon said the left alliance would withdraw all its candidates who came third in the first round, saying: “Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.”

  • However it is not so clear that Macron’s centrist alliance will do the same. In a written statement, Macron called on voters to rally behind candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic”, which, based on his recent declarations, would include the NFP’s more moderate leftwing parties but exclude candidates from France Unbowed.

  • Attal had been due to sign a decree on Monday morning introducing new limits on unemployment benefits – a policy that had been attacked by the far right and the left – but decided to suspend the decree.

Market reaction to Sunday’s result was muted, Reuters reports, with the euro gaining around 0.23% in early Asia-Pacific trading.

Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst at London’s City Index, described relief that the result yielded “no surprises.” She said:

Le Pen had a slightly smaller margin than some of the polls had pointed to, which may have helped the euro a little bit higher on the open. Attention now is on July 7 to see whether the second round supports an absolute majority or not. So it does feel like we’re a little bit in limbo.

President Emmanuel Macron, whose centrist alliance is trailing in third place in exit polls, was seen out and about on the streets of Touquet in northern France earlier, rocking something of an aviator look:

A bit more analysis from professor of political science Fréderic Sawicki at the Sorbonne. His tweet reads,

For their own benefit, the dominant parties have been refusing to introduce proportional representation since 1988. The two-rounds majority vote has now turned against them; with a third of the votes the RN [National Rally] can in its turn win 50% of the seats. It’s up to these parties to prevent if by forming a republican front.

Some more images have come through to us via the wires of the Place de la Republique in Paris, where thousands of people have gathered to protest the first round election results that put National Rally in the lead:

A bit of snap analysis from one of our regular commentators, Cas Mudde:

Summary of the evening thus far

  • French voters went to the polls for the first round of a snap legislative election.

  • An estimate by pollster Ipsos put the far right National Rally and its allies in the lead with 33.2% of the vote.

  • The estimate put the left wing New Popular Front at 28.1% and Emmanuel Macron’s allies, Together, at 21%.

  • Nevertheless, national estimates for the first round may not reflect the final breakdown of seats in the national assembly, which depends on races in constituencies.

  • Turnout was very high, with Ipsos estimating that 65.8% of eligible voters cast ballots.

  • Speaking after polls closed, the National Rally’s Marine Le Pen said French people had shown “in an unambiguous vote … their wish to turn the page on seven years of the disdainful and corrosive [presidency]” of Macron.

  • Far-right figures from across Europe congratulated the National Rally.

  • 65 MPs were elected in the first round – a high number. These included 38 MPs for the far-right National Rally and its alliance with Eric Ciotti of Les Républicains. That figure is more than double the number Le Pen had said she expected.

  • Pressure was mounting during the evening from left and centrist figures for tactical voting in the second round next Sunday.

  • Thousands took part in street demonstrations against the far right.

  • In a written statement, Macron called on voters to rally behind candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic”.

  • Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and a Macron ally, said not a single vote should go to the National Rally.

  • Attal had been due to sign a decree on Monday morning introducing new limits on unemployment benefits – a policy that had been attacked by the far right and the left – but decided to suspend the decree.

Here are more images from protests in Paris

Updated

With the results of final counts still coming in from constituencies, 65 MPs have been elected in the first round – a high number.

These included 38 MPs for the far-right National Rally and its alliance with Eric Ciotti of Les Républicains. That figure is more than double the number Marine Le Pen had said she expected.

Twenty-one MPs from the left alliance were elected in the first round, with two for Emmanuel Macron’s centrist grouping.

A majority of constituencies will face a second-round run-off.

Updated

The hard left France Unbowed’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon is now addressing a crowd at Place de la République in Paris.

Updated

In a sign of the far-right National Rally’s historic surge, at least 20 of its candidates were elected to parliament in the first round on Sunday night – a higher number than the party had expected.

Far-right candidates were elected in northern areas including l’Aisne, the Somme and the Pas-de-Calais as well as in Burgundy. Marine Le Pen was re-elected in the former coal-mining town of Hénin Beaumont in the north.

Marie-Caroline Le Pen, Marine Le Pen’s older sister, is in a strong position for the second round run-off in the Sarthe, historically a stronghold of the traditional right.

Updated

The French Union of Jewish Students has said “danger is imminent” and called on candidates to withdraw from three-way races to help defeat the far-right – with the exception of races involving France Unbowed (LFI).

Here’s where the estimates stand, according to Ipsos.

Estimates are indicators of the national political dynamics, but not necessarily of the final outcome of the election, which depends on races in individual constituencies.

Updated

The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, had been due to sign a decree on Monday morning introducing new limits on unemployment benefits – a policy that had been attacked by the far right and the left.

Attal announced on Sunday he had suspended that decree.

Updated

What happens now?

To win one of the 577 seats in the national assembly in the first round, a candidate must get more than 50% of ballots cast, representing at least 25% of registered voters.

This usually happens only rarely, although the 2024 election’s high turnout has seen the number rise sharply to perhaps as many as 80.

If no candidate in a constituency achieves that, the two highest scorers plus anyone else who collected at least 12.5% of total registered voters advance to a second round. In that round, the candidate who obtains the most votes is elected.

The combination of the highest turnout since the 1980s and fewer candidates – 4,011 against 6,290 in 2022 – from just three main camps (left, centre and far right) – means the second round of the 2024 ballot will feature a record number of “triangular” contests.

The situation is highly uncertain and will remain fluid until the actual candidates running in the second round become clear. With up to half the seats in the assembly potentially becoming three-way contests, the scope for an anti-National Rally “Republican front” is clearly there – but the extent of inter-party cooperation will be critical, as will be voters’ willingness to vote tactically.

Read the full story here.

Updated

The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, has suspended the publication of a government decree on unemployment insurance reform.

Thousands gather at Place de la République

Several thousand people gathered at Place de la République in Paris where leading figures in the left alliance were due to speak out against the far right.

Some people carried cardboard signs saying: “Bardella out”. Some young people were photographed in tears.

Street demonstrations also took place in cities including Strasbourg, Lyon, Nantes and Lille.

Updated

“This evening, in the serious moment in which France finds itself, it is essential that, in each constituency, the Republicans block both LFI [France Unbowed] and the RN [National Rally],” said Michel Barnier.

Far-right figures across Europe congratulate National Rally

Congratulations are coming in from Europe’s far right.

The far-right National Rally’s surge since the last parliament election in 2022 is unprecedented.

The party has taken almost 12 million votes in the first round, compared with the 4.2 million votes it took in 2022.

Updated

Prime minister calls for voting for candidates who defend republic

Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and an ally of Emmanuel Macron, is speaking now.

The lesson of this evening is that the far right is at the gates of power, he warned.

The goal is to prevent the far right from governing, he said, telling citizens that no votes should go to the National Rally.

He said the responsible move is for candidates in third place in runoffs to withdraw and support other candidates who defend the values ​​of the republic.

The stakes are clear: to prevent the National Rally from having an absolute majority.

Updated

An ELABE estimate for BFMTV of the seat distribution puts the far-right National Rally at 255-295 seats and the New Popular Front at 120-140.

But it’s still early and we should treat these numbers with caution.

Updated

Updated estimates published

And here are the updated estimations from Ifop – with the caveat that these numbers do not necessarily represent the final outcome in the national assembly.

Updated

The hard left France Unbowed’s François Ruffin said “the candidates who come third must withdraw to beat the RN.”

“Now the ball is in the court of Gabriel Attal and Emmanuel Macron,” he said.

The Socialist leader, Olivier Faure, was re-elected in Seine-et-Marne in the first round.

Here are the latest Ipsos estimates.

As always, these numbers should be treated with caution.

François Hollande, a former president of France who is running in the legislative election as part of the New Popular Front, said there’s a need to prevent the far right from getting a majority in the national assembly.

Updated

Here are some images from election night

Updated

Edouard Philippe, a former prime minister, has called on citizens to vote for forces committed to liberty and respect for the rule of law.

He said no votes should go to the far right National Rally and the hard left France Unbowed.

In northern France, one of the most popular figures on the French left — the head of the Communist party, Fabien Roussel — has been knocked out in the first round by the far-right National Rally candidate, Guillaume Florquin.

Updates estimates published

Here are the updated numbers from IFOP – with the caveat that these national estimates do not necessarily reflect the final results in the national assembly, given the races in individual constituencies.

Far right National Rally: 34%

Leftwing New Popular Front: 29.1%

Emmanuel Macron’s allies Together: 22%

Updated

Marine Le Pen elected

The far-right politician won a seat in the first round in her district in Pas-de-Calais.

Why are the three-way runoffs so important?

In recent French parliamentary elections, the vast majority of second-round contests have been head-to-head duels between the two leading candidates from the first round, with fewer than a dozen so-called “triangular” run-offs.

However, the combination of a very high turnout - estimated at nearly 70%, the highest since the 1980s - and fewer candidates (because they are concentrated into three main blocs, the left, the centre and the far right) means that number is likely to surge dramatically.

The pollster Ipsos has estimated that there will be between 285 and 315 three-way contests, up to four times as many as the previous record in 1997. Traditionally, in triangular runoffs where far-right National Rally (RN) is in the lead, the third-placed candidate has pulled out so as not to split the opposition vote.

The fact that nearly half the seats in the 577-seat assembly will go to three-way runoffs makes an estimate of the final distribution of seats in the national assembly extremely hard to predict and is likely to lead to frantic horsetrading.

Senior figures in the left-green New Popular Front (NFP) alliance - including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the firebrand leader of Unbowed France (LFI) - have already pledged that in all constituencies where RN finished first and the NFP candidate third, the NFP candidate would withdraw.

Emmanuel Macron’s camp, however, has so far been far less clear about what it would do in the same situation, promising only to examine each constituency on its merits.

The president’s coalition could yet decide not to stand its candidates down if they are faced with a candidate from LFI rather than one of the other three NFP members.

The socialist party’s Olivier Faure said this evening that “for the first time since the Second World War, the far right could govern the country.”

“We must block the RN in the second round,” he said.

The far-right National Rally’s Jordan Bardella is speaking now, calling on voters to remain mobilised for next Sunday’s second round.

The choice is clear, he said, calling the far-left dangerous.

Next Sunday, if his camp wins an absolute majority, Bardella said he would be a prime minister who focuses on purchasing power, restoring order and migration policy.

It’s a historic choice, he said, arguing that victory is possible next Sunday.

Let’s be mobilised for change, he added.

Updated

Place Publique is calling for different groups to come together to defeat the far right, by withdrawing candidates in third place in three-way races in the second round.

“The far right is at the gates of power.”

Updated

Left will withdraw third-place candidates to help defeat far-right, Mélenchon says

Today’s vote is a defeat for the president’s camp, the hard-left France Unbowed’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon said.

The New Popular Front is the sole alternative, he said.

He also said that in cases where there is a three-way race in the second round, and that the left is in third place, they would withdraw their candidates to oppose the far right.

Updated

Éric Coquerel, a candidate for the left-wing New Popular Front, said on BFMTV that Gabriel Attal won’t be the next prime minister. He the second round will be between the project of the National Rally and the New Popular Front.

Marine Le Pen calls on supporters to mobilise for second round

Speaking to supporters just after the first estimates were published, the far-right’s Marine Le Pen said democracy has spoken and said that citizens have shown they want to turn the page.

But she also stressed the importance of the second round next week.

There’s a need for an absolute majority so that Jordan Bardella can become prime minister, she said. No French person will lose rights, she argued, calling for supporters to mobilise.

Updated

The far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen will soon address supporters after first estimates put her party in the lead.

First estimate puts far-right National Rally in lead

With polls now closed, first estimates have been published.

Note that these numbers should be treated with caution: while these figures show broad election dynamics, they do not necessarily reflect the final outcome given that there are 577 constituency votes – and a second round next weekend.

Here are the estimates from IFOP:

Far right National Rally: 34.2%

Leftwing New Popular Front: 29.1%

Emmanuel Macron’s allies Together: 21.5%

Here are the estimates conducted for BFMTV:

Far right National Rally: 33%

Leftwing New Popular Front: 28.5%

Emmanuel Macron’s allies Together: 22%

Updated

IFOP estimates that the final turnout will stand at 69%.

Here’s how that compares with previous elections.

Updated

French parliamentary elections – what to look out for and when

Our Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, has written a useful guide for what to expect this evening.

Estimations at 8pm CET will project the national vote share of parties. But this figure must be taken with caution. It will show the broad dynamic of support for each party across France, but it does not indicate the shape of a future parliament because the 577 different constituency votes will be defined by local context and candidates.

Polls have shown that, in terms of overall national vote share, the far-right National Rally could substantially increase its showing from the last parliament election, when it took just over 18%, to about 35%. The left alliance has been predicted to follow on about 27% and Emmanuel Macron’s centrists behind on about 21%.

Read the full guide here.

High turnout for France's first election round

Turnout has been much higher today than during France’s last legislative election in 2022.

At 5pm local time, turnout stood at 59.39%, compared with merely 39.4% at that time in the 2022 election.

Updated

'Cliffhanger at the end of each episode': Macron's grouping struggles for survival

Emmanuel Macron’s centrist grouping was fighting for survival this weekend before the first round of France’s high-stakes snap election, which could lead to the far-right National Rally (RN) becoming the biggest force in parliament.

Macron, who warned last week that France risked “civil war” if Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration RN, or the leftwing New Popular Front coalition, came to power, said at the European summit in Brussels that “uninhibited racism and antisemitism” had been unleashed in France.

But his strategy of stoking a climate of fear, in which his centrists are presented as the only rational force to hold back the breakdown of French society, is seen as backfiring.

Antoine Bristielle, the director of opinion at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès thinktank, said that since Macron called the election, France’s political future was extremely difficult to read. “Macron is more and more unpredictable,” he said. “It’s as if he’s running the country like he’s in a Netflix series – and has to put a cliffhanger at the end of each episode.”

Read the full story here.

Updated

The last polls are scheduled to close at 8pm local time.

Here are some images from election day in France.

Who is Jordan Bardella?

Jordan Bardella, a 28-year old member of the European parliament, is the far-right National Rally’s candidate for prime minister.

He has one of the biggest TikTok followings in French politics and never says no to a selfie with teenage fans.

The son of Italians who arrived in the 1960s, Bardella is presented as a “good immigrant” who embraced French culture and civilisation, which he now warns is under threat from what he calls Islamist ideology.

He has taken a deliberately humble tone with voters, part of a strategy to deliver the final phase of Marine Le Pen’s decade-long drive to soften the far-right party’s image.

Bardella does not seek to dilute the party’s hardline anti-immigration message, which has not changed since the 1970s; instead he wants to make it respectable and fully mainstream ahead of Le Pen’s fourth attempt at the presidency in 2027.

Read more here.

What do the polls say?

The last IFOP poll before the first round of the French election, published Friday, put the far-right National Rally at 36.5% and the left-wing New Popular Front at 29%.

The same poll found that the far-right would take between 225 and 265 seats in the 577-seat national assembly – falling short of the 289 required for a majority - while the New Popular Front would take 170-200.

Nevertheless, some other polls put the far-right in a stronger position, predicting that it could even win a majority of seats.

A poll conducted for BFMTV put the far-right at between 260 and 295 seats.

Welcome to the blog

Good evening and welcome to the French election blog.

Citizens across France went to the polls today for the first round of a snap legislative election unexpectedly called by Emmanuel Macron after his allies performed poorly in the European elections on 9 June, while the far-right won the most votes.

The election is widely seen as a gamble from the French president, who is facing a presidential election in 2027. But polls ahead of today’s election also put the far-right in the lead, with Macron’s allies trailing behind in third place.

A second round is scheduled for next Sunday, 7 July.

Stay tuned and send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.

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