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A left-wing coalition won the most seats in the final round of France’s snap elections, marking a major upset for far-right factions that were widely forecast to win. But the victorious New Popular Front fell short of an outright majority and the country is now in a political deadlock.
President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance finished second, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies coming third.
Macron called the surprise general election in June after the National Rally recorded a surge in last month’s European elections.
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Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a member of Macron’s party, offered his resignation but the French president has asked him to remain in position to “ensure stability,” weeks before Paris hosts the Olympic Games.
Le Pen’s National Rally had dominated the first round of the legislative elections, leading more than 200 candidates from the left and center to drop out of three- and four-way contests, in order to consolidate support and keep the far right from power.
In the final week of the vote, the National Rally faced fresh scrutiny for racist, homophobic, or xenophobic statements made by dozens of its candidates, Le Monde reported.
The left-wing coalition, which hurriedly unified after the European parliamentary elections, billed itself as “the only alternative” to the far right. The group — which includes both moderate leftist factions and more radical, far-left parties — wants to lower the retirement age and increase state spending on welfare, health care, and the environment.