France’s far right leads in first round of elections, exit polls show
Al Jazeera
Exit polls project Marine Le Pen’s far-right RN won 34 percent as President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance won 20.3 percent in first round of parliamentary elections.
France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party holds a clear lead in the first round of the country’s snap parliamentary elections, according to exit polls.
Pollsters IFOP, Ipsos, OpinionWay and Elabe projected Marine Le Pen’s RN winning around 34 percent of votes, while the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition was seen coming in second with around 29 percent, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble Alliance in third spot with around 20.3 percent.
Pollster Elabe said in an estimate for BFM TV that the RN and its allies could win 260-310 parliament seats in the second voting round on July 7, while Ipsos projected a range of 230-280 seats for RN and its allies in a poll for France Television.
A total 289 seats are needed for an absolute majority in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament.
Le Pen welcomed the results and told a celebratory crowd that the French people have placed the RN in front, and that they have practically wiped out Macron’s camp.
