In a crushing outcome, French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies lost their absolute majority in the National Assembly - and with it control of the reform agenda
Macron's centrist Ensemble coalition, which wants to raise the retirement age and further deepen EU integration, was on course to end up with the most seats in Sunday's election.
A hung parliament will require a degree of power-sharing and compromises among parties not experienced in France in recent decades.There is no set script in France for how things will now unfold. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988.
Initial projections by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed Macron's Ensemble alliance winning 230-250 seats, the left-wing Nupes alliance securing 141-175 and Les Republicains 60-75. His ability to pursue further reform of the euro zone's second-biggest economy hinges on winning support for his policies from moderates outside his alliance on both the right and left.Macron and his allies must now decide whether to seek an alliance with the conservative Les Republicains, who came fourth, or run a minority government that will have to negotiate bills with other parties on a case-by-case basis.
Christian Jacob, the head of Les Republicains, said his party will remain in the opposition but be "constructive", suggesting case-by-case deals rather than a coalition pact.
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