France’s public broadcaster has projected that the far-right National Rally party and its allies are leading in Sunday’s first round of a legislative election. It expects President Emmanuel Macron’s alliance to come in third.
The media outlet made the announcement late on Sunday evening. The predictions on the vote for the lower house of the National Assembly were based on data, including an estimate by a polling institute.
The broadcaster says the National Rally and its allies will clinch 33.2 percent of the vote. It also says the newly formed leftist New Popular Front alliance will gain 28.1 percent while Macron’s camp will win 21 percent.
The broadcaster also forecast that the National Rally and its allies may grab 230 to 280 of the chamber’s 577 seats.
It adds that the New Popular Front alliance may secure 125 to 165 seats while Macron’s camp may acquire 70 to 100.
Macron called the snap election after the National Rally defeated his coalition in the European Union’s parliamentary elections in June. But local media outlets report his bloc lost in the gamble.
Macron issued a written statement, seeking cooperation to block the far-right. He said it is time for a large, “clearly democratic and republican” rally for the second round of the election.
Constituencies where no candidates win an absolute majority of the vote in the first round will head into the second round of voting on July 7.
Analysts say the final results will depend on how parties join hands in the run-up to the second round.