French President set to lose majority

Newly re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron is set to lose his party’s absolute majority in the nation’s National Assembly as the first round of exit polls are published

Projections from four separate pollsters indicate France may be heading towards a hung parliament.

The French President’s centrist ‘Ensemble!’ alliance will still likely retain the most seats, followed closely by the country’s left-wing bloc.

This bloc is led by hard-left veteran and previous presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.

The French Assembly’s threshold for an absolute majority is 289 seats, with all of the polls released so far indicating Macron’s party will fall well short of this target.

If a hung parliament is confirmed, it will potentially signal the beginning of a very uncertain time for France, with this required level of power-sharing not seen in the country for decades.

In Macron’s corner, the former head of the National Assembly has lost his seat, while his Health Minister was also not re-elected.

And in what is another major shake-up, far-right presidential candidate Marianne Le Pen’s party could win as many as 100 seats, which would be the group’s biggest score to date.