Left come through to beat far right and win French election

Far right placed third. Official results and main points of the results after the second round of France's parliamentary elections

The Nouveau Front Populaire only launched a few weeks ago but is already the largest party in parliament
Richard Henshell
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The second round of France's snap parliamentary elections happened on Sunday (July 7). Here are the key points to draw from the results confirmed by the Interior Ministry at 23:55.

  • The newly formed alliance of left-wing parties the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) has won the most seats in the French parliament but does not have an absolute majority (289)
  • The NFP won 180 seats
  • Far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and allies won 143 seats
  • Ensemble ! - the centrist alliance including President Macron’s party won 163 seats, far better than expected
  • Highest turnout in 40 years at 67.1%
  • Former president François Hollande has been elected as an MP in the Corrèze department
  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon, former leader of the far-left La France Insoumise (part of the NFP), said: “The results of the election are clear: the president must bow down in the face of this victory and the prime minister must resign. The Nouveau Front Populaire will now apply its own programme and nothing but its programme.”
  • Jordan Bardella, president of the RN, said: "Tonight, France is deprived of a majority government capable of steering a clear course to turn the country around".

    "Tonight, these electoral agreements have thrown France into the arms of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's far left. The momentum behind the RN, which put it well ahead in the first round and enabled it to double its number of MPs, are the building blocks of tomorrow's victory."

  • Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, said: “This evening, the political party that I represented in this campaign, even though it achieved a score three times higher than had been predicted in recent weeks, does not have a majority."

  • Mr Attal offered his resignation to president Macron on July 8, but the president rejected his offer. He will remain in the position as caretaker until a new government has been chosen.

  • Bruno le Maire, Finance Minister under president Macron said he feared "a financial crisis and the economic decline" of France after the left-wing victory

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