Macron's camp was almost wiped out.
The right-wing National Compact leads in the first round of the French National Assembly elections held on Sunday with approximately 34 percent of the votes, according to exit polls by IFOP, Ipsos, OpinionWay and Elabe.
The New People's Front, a left-wing alliance created by the union of the radical left, the Communists, the Greens and the Socialists, finished in second place with about 29 percent of support, while the centrist camp of French President Emmanuel Macron got 20.5-23 percent of the votes.
According to Elabe's estimate for BFM TV, the National Compact and its allies can get 260-310 parliamentary seats in the second round due on July 7, while Ipsos anticipated 230-280 mandates in its forecast commissioned by France Television.
In the French lower house, 289 seats are needed for an absolute majority.
Marine Le Pen said on Sunday evening that Emmanuel Macron's camp was "almost wiped out" in the first round of the election.
I call on you to join the coalition of freedom, security and fraternity - Marine Le Pen urged the voters.
As he said, there is nothing more natural in politics than a change of power and at the same time he warned against false fear-mongering against his party.
He stated: in order to start rebuilding France, voters must help his party win an absolute majority in the lower house of the legislature in the second round.
"We thank the voters from the bottom of our hearts and welcome this result as a first step towards political change and a sign of trust that honors and binds us," said Marine Le Pen, who was already re-elected in the first round as a representative in Hénin-Beaumont in northern France. . The opposition party leader asked the French people to give the National Compact an absolute majority to govern in next Sunday's second round.
Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Consolidation, declared that he is ready to become prime minister if his party wins.
"I would be a prime minister working in a political partnership (with the head of state) who respects the constitution and the office of the president of the republic, but at the same time is unshakable in the policy we implement," emphasized Bardella, who previously confirmed several times that he would only take on the government if his party obtained an absolute majority in the second round.
The main stake in the voting is whether the National Compact will become the largest parliamentary party for the first time since its existence, and whether it will be able to obtain the necessary majority to govern. In this case, a so-called political joint lease is formed, i.e. Emmanuel Macron and the government given by his opposition will lead the country together.
Emmanuel Macron called for a "broad democratic and republican unity" against the National Collapse in the second round of the National Assembly elections due in a week. The head of state also spoke about how the high voter turnout indicates how important people consider this voting and their desire to clarify political conditions.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal "thanked all those who voted for confidence" in the presidential camp in the first round of the parliamentary elections.
The lesson of this evening is that the extreme right stands at the gate of power - he said, adding that the goal now is to "prevent the National Compaction from gaining an absolute majority in the second round, to dominate the National Assembly, and thus the country governs with his shameful program”.
"Not a single vote should be given to the National Collapse. France deserves not to hesitate. Never," he added, emphasizing that "we have a moral obligation to do everything we can to prevent the worst."
The prime minister announced that his candidates who advanced to the second round in third place will be withdrawn by the presidential majority and asks his voters to "support another candidate who, like us, defends the values of the republic".
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical left-wing Disobedient France, interpreted the election result as a "serious and indisputable defeat" for the head of state.
At the same time, he announced that, in accordance with the position of the left in the previous elections, the left-wing alliance will withdraw its candidates who entered the second round in third place, in order to prevent the victory of the National Compact.
65.8-67 percent of voters went to the polls on Sunday, such a high turnout has not been seen in the first round since 1988.
Due to the method of election, the result is determined by the participation rate: citizens can only vote for individual candidates, for a certain victory in the first round a candidate must achieve 50 percent plus one vote. If no one succeeds in this in a district, then in next Sunday's second round, all candidates who have achieved 12.5 percent of the registered voters and at least 25 percent of the votes can run.
According to estimates, the candidates of all three major political camps advanced to the second round in around 300 of the 577 constituencies, so the withdrawals of the left and the presidential camp may change the balance of power in the second round in the coming days.
MTI
Cover photo: Marine Le Pen, leader of the French opposition National Consolidation (RN) party at the party president's press conference in Paris
Source: MTI/EPA/Mohamed Badra
