Far right leads France election, but final result remains uncertain, exit polls show

Supporters of Marine Le Pen, Henin-Beaumont, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

By Benoit Van Overstraeten and Layli Foroudi

Supporters of Marine Le Pen, Henin-Beaumont, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

PARIS (Reuters) -Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party emerged ahead in the first round of France's parliamentary elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the unpredictable final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week's run-off.

Marine Le Pen, Henin-Beaumont, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe showed.

Emmanuel Macron takes a selfie with supporters, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including President Emmanuel Macron's Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning 20.5%-23%. The New Popular Front, a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 29% of the vote, the exit polls showed.

Tulle, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

The results from the high-turnout vote, which were in line with polls ahead of the election, provided little clarity on whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a government alongside the pro-EU Macron.

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures, visits a polling station to vote in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool

A week of political bargaining now lies ahead of the July 7 run-off. The final result will depend on how parties decide to join forces in each of France's 577 constituencies for the second round. In the past, France's centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from taking power, but that dynamic, called the "republican front" in France, is less certain than ever.

Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party candidate, casts her ballot in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The French president's decision this month to call snap elections plunged his country into political uncertainty, sent shockwaves around Europe and prompted a sell-off of French assets on financial markets.

Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party, visits a polling station to vote in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, in Garches, near Paris, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Participation in Sunday's vote was high, underlining how France's rumbling political crisis has energised the electorate.

France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal casts his vote in the first round of the French parliamentary elections, in Vanves, a suburb of Paris, on June 30, 2024. ARNAUD FINISTRE/Pool via REUTERS

By 1500 GMT, turnout was nearly 60%, compared with 39.42% two years ago - the highest comparable turnout figures since the 1986 legislative vote, Ipsos France's research director Mathieu Gallard said.

People queue to vote in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, at a polling station in Tulle, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

A longtime pariah, the RN is now closer to power than it has ever been. Le Pen has sought to detoxify a party known for racism and antisemitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at Macron, the high cost of living and growing concerns over immigration.

(Additional reporting by Ardee Napolitano and Janis Laizans in Hénin-Beaumont and Clotaire Achi, Imad Creidi, Lucien Libert in Paris; Writing by Estelle Shirbon and Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Frances Kerry, Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)