National Rally head slams left, centrists as 'alliance of dishonour'

The leader of the French far-right-wing nationalist National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, has lashed out at his political opponents following the surprising victory of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the parliamentary elections.

He described the centrist camp of President Emmanuel Macron and the left-wing alliance as a "single party" and an "alliance of dishonour."

Bardella railed against "electoral agreements" that "have plunged France into the arms of Jean-Luc Mélenchon," the hard-left leader.

The left-wing camp and Macron's centrist forces had formed an alliance of convenience before the second round. In order not to take votes away from each other in constituencies where three candidates made it to the second round, numerous candidates withdrew.

"The momentum carried by the RN, which put it well ahead in the first round and enabled it to double its number of deputies, are essential elements of tomorrow's victory," Bardella said.

According to initial projections, the left-wing NFP alliance is ahead in the parliamentary elections and could win 172 to 215 of the 577 seats.

National Rally could end up in third place with 120 to 152 seats, behind Macron's centrist camp with 150 to 180 seats.

The shift to the right in France is therefore less pronounced than expected after the first round where it gained 33% of the votes cast, but the far-right nationalists look set to expand significantly their parliamentary group of 88 deputies.