Macron coalition, leftwing bloc neck and neck in first round of French elections

Macron's coalition, Together, represented in purple, is expected to reap 255 - 295 seats, followed by the left-wing Nupes (red) with 150-190. The conservative Les Républicains (light blue) are expected to win 50-80 seats, with the far-right National Rally (navy blue) forecast to take 20-45 seats. © France24

French President Emmanuel Macron was in danger of falling short of a parliamentary majority after a first round of voting in parliamentary elections on Sunday that saw his centrist camp tied with a left-wing coalition led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Follow the election night as it happened on our liveblog.

Estimates by Ipsos put Mélenchon's Nupes bloc on 25.6 percent, just ahead of Macron's alliance on 25.2 percent, casting doubt on the president's ability to hold on to his majority in France's National Assembly. Turnout was on course to reach a record low of 47.7 percent.