But that was well short of the absolute majority needed to control parliament, initial projections and first results showed. French President Emmanuel Macron leaves a voting booth in Le Touquet, northern France, on Sunday. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988. Leftist, far-right gainsUnited behind Mélenchon, left-wing parties were on course to triple their score from the last legislative election in 2017. The two together have a chance at an absolute majority in final results, which requires at least 289 seats in the lower house.

Source: CBC News June 20, 2022 16:55 UTC