French Projections: Macron's Centrists Will Keep A Majority

More than 6,000 candidates, ranging in age from 18 to 92, ran Sunday for 577 seats in France's National Assembly in the first round of the election.

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance is expected to keep its parliamentary majority after the first round of voting Sunday, but will likely have far fewer seats than five years ago, according to projections.

Projections based on partial election results showed that at the national level, Macron's party and its allies got about 25%-26% of the vote. That was neck-and-neck with estimates for a new leftist coalition composed of hard-left, Socialists and Green party supporters. Yet Macron's candidates are projected to win in a greater number of districts than their leftist rivals, giving the president a majority.

More than 6,000 candidates, ranging in age from 18 to 92, ran Sunday for 577 seats in France's National Assembly in the first round of the election.