France's Socialist leader: No coalition of opposites

Following the surprise victory of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the parliamentary election in France, the leader of the Socialists, Olivier Faure, has spoken out against a government alliance with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp.

There should be no "coalition of opposites" that continues Macron's policies, said Faure.

Faure called for France to be modernized, including massive investment in climate action. The rich should also be taxed more heavily, he said.

According to initial projections, the NFP is surprisingly ahead after the second round of the parliamentary elections in France and is projected to gain 172-215 of the 577 seats in the lower house, or National Assembly.

The far-right National Rally fell to third place after topping the polls in the first round, now ending up behind Macron's centrist camp.

No camp is likely to achieve an absolute majority of 289 seats.

Leading social democratic politician Raphaël Glucksmann, who was the French Socialists' lead candidate in the European elections, said that there could be majorities for individual projects in the future. This strategy has proved difficult for Macron's forces over the past two years.