The first round of a snap parliamentary election in France points to a surge in votes for the anti-immigrant National Rally party, with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance coming into third place.
Early polling data from national broadcaster France 2 indicates that National Rally (RN) won 34% of the vote while the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance got 28.1%.
If no candidate meets that standard, a second round of voting is held, listing the top two candidates and any other candidates who secured more than 12.5% of registered voters' support.
The second round of voting on July 7 is the one to watch, according to Antonio Barroso, deputy director of Research at Teneo.
As such, National Rally is widely expected to significantly increase the number of seats it has in France's 577-seat parliament, the National Assembly, from the current level of 89.
Persons:
Emmanuel Macron, Emmanuel Macron's, Antonio Barroso
Organizations:
Nexus Institute, National Rally, France, New Popular Front, Research, NFP, National Assembly
Locations:
The Hague, Netherlands, France, Teneo