The French parliament will be hung following the second round of voting in a legislative election, held on Sunday.
The New Popular Front (NPF), an alliance of leftist parties, emerged as the single-biggest parliamentary bloc, winning 180 of the 577 available seats.
President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble was second, with 159 seats, while the right-wing National Rally (NR) and its allies finished with 142 seats.
The result means that no party has won a majority and it remains to be seen who is appointed as Prime Minister. Macron may attempt to appoint a Prime Minister from his own Ensemble group, but it is more likely that the post will be given to someone from the NPF.
Unlike most other European countries, France does not have a tradition of coalition government and there could be a period of uncertainty while the various parties try to form a government.
The NR had been expected to emerge as the biggest party, but tactical voting by opponents of the NR saw them relegated to third place. Nevertheless, this is still the party’s best-ever performance.
[Image: Jarosław Baranowski, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54573629]