Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party has won the first round of France's parliamentary elections, exit polls showed.
As per Reuters, the RN received about 34% of the vote, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's Together alliance, which got between 20.5% and 23%, and the left-wing New Popular Front, which secured around 29%.
The final outcome will depend on negotiations leading up to next week's run-off.
Although the RN is projected to win the most seats in the National Assembly, only Elabe predicts it might get an absolute majority of 289 seats in the July 7 run-off.
Meanwhile, experts caution that first-round seat projections can be highly inaccurate.
Voter participation was higher than in previous parliamentary elections, indicating strong political engagement.
Macron has urged voters to support candidates who are "clearly republican and democratic," excluding those from the RN and the hard-left France Unbowed party.
The final results will hinge on how parties form alliances in France's 577 constituencies.
While, traditionally, center-right and center-left parties have joined forces to block the RN, but this dynamic is uncertain this year.
Macron's call for snap elections has created political instability, affected European markets, and brought the RN closer to power than ever before.
By 1500 GMT, voter turnout was nearly 60%, significantly higher than in the last comparable election two years ago.
