French election: Alliance of left projected to take most seats in dramatic turn after far right won first vote

French election: Alliance of left projected to take most seats in dramatic turn after far right won first vote

The left-wing alliance in France is projected to win the most seats in parliament in a blow to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen.

Le Pen’s National Rally came top in the first round of voting a week ago and was hoping to win the most seats in France’s legislature for the first time in the party’s history.

President Emmanuel Macron called a snap vote after he was defeated in last month’s European Parliament election.

He had pledged “a clarification” of the French political landscape.

However the far right win in round one had thrown French politics into turmoil.

According to early estimates by polling institute IFOP and other pollsters the left-wing alliance is on course to have between 180 and 215 MPs in France’s 577-seat National Assembly, according to Politico.

Those figures would put Macron’s liberals on 150-180 seats, with the far-right National Rally and its allies forecast to have 120-150 MPs in the new legislature.

Macron’s own position as president was not at stake in the election.

He is due to remain in office until 2027.

However, Macron’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has said he’ll offer to resign.

This election has seen Macron's centrist government face off against strong opposition from both the left and far-right, highlighting France's increasingly polarised political landscape.

"The country is facing three radically opposed views of society," said Olivier Grisal, a retiree, as he walked towards his polling site in the middle-class town of Conflans Sainte-Honorine, west of Paris, on Sunday.