France elections latest: Far-right National Rally ahead after first round of voting in snap French election - exit polls (2024)

That's all our live coverage on the first round of parliamentary elections in France.

You can read about the night as it happened by scrolling below, or check out our full report here...

Our international correspondent John Sparks is in Paris where thousands of protesters have gathered to demonstrate against the far right.

He says MPs on the hard left have been whipping up crowds and, after coming in second place in the exit polls, some of them are celebrating.

However, for Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party, who came in third, it's not a great night at all.

Sparks says: "We've basically seen the first round of a two round boxing match, and over the next week we are going to see some feverish campaigning.

"We're going to see some political tactics going on as groups on the left and the right try to cement their presence in parliament.

"But I think Macron is out of it. It's absolutely telling tonight that his prime minister told people to cast their vote to deny National Rally a majority position in parliament.

"If that isn't a sign of weakness, then I don't know what is."

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Paris to demonstrate against the far right National Rally party.

Crowds formed at the Place de la Republique, with people showing their support for the far left parties.

Violence has also been reported in Lyon.

The National Rally party was seen leading the first round of parliamentary elections with around 33% of votes, according to exit polls.

Pollsters IFOP, Ipsos, OpinionWay and Elabe found the left wing New Popular Front coalition was seen coming in second with around 28.5%.

President Emmanuel Macron's centrist bloc was in the third spot with between 20.5-23%.

Gabriel Attal is addressing the nation from Paris after exit polls placed the far right National Rally party as the front runner in the first voting round.

The French prime minister says people have expressed themselves "massively" and he thanks those who have voted.

But he warns that the country "must stop" the far right from gaining an absolute majority.

"The lesson we can learn tonight is that the extreme right is at the gates of power. Never in our democracy has the situation been so dominated by the extreme right," he says.

"I would like to launch an appeal - not a single vote should go to the National Rally."

Mr Attal belongs to Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party and became the youngest post-war French prime minister in January.

Mr Attal became a household name as government spokesperson during the COVID pandemic, and previous opinion polls suggested he was one of France's most popular politicians.

But he now faces the daunting task of saving his boss's presidency and political movement.

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

The French economy took a hit following President Emmanuel Macron's decision to call a snap election, figures suggest.

Business confidence and private sector output both dropped in June, a survey of around 750 major companies in the country revealed.

France's services sector - which includes industries such as hospitality and entertainment - also contracted by more than expected, according to the data.

Some businesses said concern over the result of the upcoming election had created economic uncertainty.

Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) has enjoyed popularity in the polls - but they do not easily translate into a direct forecast for the election's outcome because of France'stwo-round majority system - which can encourage tactical voting.

Some pollsters have suggested that RN and its allies may fall short of a parliamentary majority as a result, although they could still end up forming its largest bloc.

Economist Norman Liebke, from Hamburg Commercial Bank, said: "The uncertainty of the upcoming elections has French businesses stalling and fearing tougher times. According to anecdotal evidence, some panel members [in the survey] linked lower activity levels to the upcoming elections.

"This was also seen in new orders, especially in the service sector, which declined for the first time in three months."

Mr Liebke added: "In addition, output expectations for the coming twelve months have weakened, partially due to higher uncertainty about the upcoming election, but also due to higher geopolitical risks."

However, economist Franziska Palmas, from research firm Capital Economics, said she would not "overemphasise" the impact of the election call because French economic indicators "started falling in May before the political turmoil started".

Nonetheless, investors are closely watching France's economic indicators, with uncertainty over the election adding to concerns that France may soon run into trouble financing its budget deficit.

Supporters of National Rally have been celebrating the exit poll results, which have placed the far-right party in the top spot.

The party's leader Marine Le Pen said President Emmanuel Macron's bloc had been "almost wiped out" as she urged voters to head to the polls for the second round of voting on 7 July.

In Henin-Beaumont, northern France, people cheered and waved flags in the air after seeing the poll results.

The left-wing coalition New Popular Front will withdraw its candidates during next week's second round in case they are in third position in the first round, said Jean-Luc Melenchon.

"Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally," the leader of the La France Insoumise party said.

Far right party National Rally has emerged ahead in the exit polls with around 34% of the votes.

The New Popular Front came in second place with around 28.5% of the votes.

The coalition is made up of La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Les Ecologistes, the French Communist Party, Generation.s, Place Publique, and several other left leaning parties.

Emmanuel Macron will remain president after the election - but he'll have to pick a prime minister from whichever party or alliance wins a majority in the National Assembly (France's lower house of parliament).

Across France, there are 49 million registered voters and 577 constituencies - one for each assembly seat.

Candidates with an absolute majority of votes in their constituency are elected in the first round - but most fall short of this, meaning a second round is held.

The first round strikes out all candidates who fail to win the support of 12.5% of registered voters.

The top scorer wins the second round.

What happens next?

After the second round results on 7 July, the president picks the prime minister - usually from the winning party.

If voters pick an assembly and president from different sides of the political spectrum, they end up with something called "cohabitation".

France has only had three periods of "cohabitation" since the Second World War.

If voters choose an opposition parliament, it reduces the president to a ceremonial role. No majority in parliament = no implementing your key reforms.

The prime minister has most executive powers, apart from defence and foreign policy.

We're now hearing from Jordan Bardella - the National Rally's candidate for prime minister.

Thanking voters for their support, and urging them to head out to the polls in the second round of voting next week, he says the results will determine the history of France.

The 28-year-old says he will be "the protector" of people's rights and freedoms.

"Next Sunday, victory is possible and the alternative is possible," he adds.

"Let us be united, let us gather together, let us mobilise for change. Long live France and long live the republic," he concludes.

Our international correspondent John Sparks has been taking a look at the exit polls and says they give a "very good indication" of what the French electorate are feeling.

"This is really, really significant. We are talking about National Rally - a hard right party that has been kept out of power by the political class for many years - doing better than ever before," he says.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged voters to block the far right in the decisive second-round elections.

Sparks says he doesn't think people will listen to his calls and Mr Macron is "really suffering" when it comes to personal popularity.

"They don't think he is able to compromise, and he has passed a couple of measures that have been really controversial," he adds.

"Even in his own party - they didn't think that he needed to call the snap election. I think he is in a really, really tight spot.

"He has got a really big job ahead of him."