French election results – LIVE: Far-right National Rally beaten, says exit poll, as Gabriel Attal to resign

France ’s far-right National Rally has failed to become the largest party at parliamentary elections, according to shock exit poll results, which forecast the left-wing New Popular Front coalition is in pole position.

In what would be a bitter blow for Marine Le Pen , an exit poll by Ipsos suggested the NFP coalition will win between 172 and 192 seats, with the Emmanuel Macron -backing Ensemble group taking second place and Ms Le Pen’s party in third place when the results are confirmed on Monday morning.

Following the exit polls, prime minister Gabriel Attal said he would offer his resignation.

Mr Macron took even his own allies by surprise in calling the snap election last month, after the anti-immigration National Rally made huge gains in European elections.

The president gambled that French voters would block the far right as they have in the past.

But the National Rally instead won a larger share than ever in the first round of voting on 30 June.

More than 200 candidates from the Macron-backing Ensemble alliance and left-wing New Popular Front stepped down in seats otherwise facing a three-way battle, in a so-called “republican front” against the far right.