Left Coalition Leads French Legislative Elections

Leading polling institutions reported on Sunday that "the leftist New Popular Front coalition in France won the largest number of seats in the second round of parliamentary elections, putting it on track for an unexpected victory over the far-right National Rally party without achieving an absolute majority in parliament." An estimate by the IFOP polling institute for TF1 television indicated that the New Popular Front could win between 180 and 215 seats in parliament in the second round of voting, while a poll by Ipsos for France Télévisions predicted the left bloc would secure between 172 and 215 seats. A survey conducted by OpinionWay for CNews said that the New Popular Front is expected to win between 180 and 210 seats, while a poll by Elabe for BFMTV estimated it would obtain between 175 and 205 seats. According to the polls, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist bloc is slightly ahead of Marine Le Pen's National Rally in the contest for second place. A total of 289 seats is needed to achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly (parliament).