Exit polls: Macron's Ensemble in the lead after French parliamentary election first round
The first exit polls after the French parliamentary election's opening round on Sunday show that President Emmanuel Macron's coalition Ensemble is well on its way to gathering most of the 577 seats available to the MPs chasing the new five-year term.
NUPES, an unexpected left-wing alliance consisting La France Insoumise, Socialist, Green and Communist parties and led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is firmly in what is a close second place, meaning that Macron and Ensemble might not have enough to keep their absolute majority in the National Assembly.
Percentage of votes-wise, Macron and Mélenchon blocs are neck and neck, with the latter even possibly faring better with a maximum projected vote of 26,2% compared to Ensemble's 25,8%.
However, this does not translate directly to the seats, where Ensemble could get between 255 and 310 according to different polls, compared to NUPES' possible range of between 150 and 220 deputies.
Far-right and nationalist Rassemblement led by Marine Le Pen -- who lost to Macron in the second round of presidential elections in April -- is projected to receive around 19% of the vote, which however translates to a maximum of 45 seats.
The results came as the turnout for the parliamentary election was again noticeably lower than in past elections.
Already by noon, it was clear that the turnout of 18.43% at noon was almost one point lower than in 2017, when it stood at 19.24%. The noon turnout for the presidential election earlier this year was almost exactly six points higher, standing at 25.48%.
At 39,42% at 5 pm CET, the number of those who went out to vote was still below the 2017 figures. As the polls closed at 8 pm, the final turnout is expected to be around 47%, with a majority of French voters opting to
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