France Far-Right Claims 33% of Vote But Path to Power Not Secure

The far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies in France have secured 33% of the national popular vote in the first round of parliamentary elections but its path to power could be blocked in the next round of elections.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance came in second with 28% of the vote, while President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Together coalition garnered 20%, the Guardian reported.

This is the first time the RN has surpassed 20% in a parliamentary election, putting the party on the brink of forming France's first-ever far-right elected government.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the NFP, said the leftist alliance would withdraw all its candidates who came third in the first round, saying:

"Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally."

President Macron called on voters in a to rally behind candidates who are "clearly republican and democratic."

The final results and parliament's exact 577-seat make-up, however, remain unclear. The RN's chances depend on political deals made by rivals before the second round on Sunday.

Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Paris and other French cities to voice their discontent with the election results and reject the far-right's victory.

Marine Le Pen's National Rally is anti-immigration. She inherited her party, then called the National Front, from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has multiple convictions for racist and antisemitic hate speech, the Associated Press reported.

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