France: Emmanuel Macron asks Gabriel Attal to stay on as PM for time being amid political deadlock – as it happened

4.35pm BST

Summary of the day

• On Sunday, a left-wing alliance emerged as the shock winner of France’s snap election.

• Today, Emmanuel Macron , the president, asked Gabriel Attal to stay on temporarily as French prime minister to maintain stability after the snap general election left the country facing a hung parliament and fraught negotiations to form a new government.

• Olivier Faure , the first secretary of the French Socialist party, said the left-green New Popular Front should present a candidate for prime minister within the week.

• Manuel Bompard , from the hard left France Unbowed, said Macron must invite someone from the New Popular Front to become prime minister.

• Figures on the French left began to outline the qualities they would like to see in a future prime minister. Marine Tondelier from the Ecologists said the prime minister must have an ability to build consensus and repair the country.

• Despite her party unexpectedly ending up in third place, the far right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen said the party’s progress in two years is incredible, arguing that victory is inevitable.

• The National Rally’s Jordan Bardella said he accepts his share of responsibility for yesterday’s results.

• Meanwhile, Bardella was selected as chair of the new Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament, a grouping which includes Viktor Orbán ’s Fidesz party and other far right parties.

• Valérie Hayer , a Macron ally and leader of the Renew Europe group, called the new far right grouping a “paper tiger” that “impresses no one.”

• Reaction in Germany amongst mainstream parties towards the election result in France has been fairly sombre, despite some feeling consoled that the outcome was not as bad as they had feared.

• Olaf Scholz , the German chancellor, has said that he is relieved by the French election results.

• Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, wrote that “the UK and France have said YES to progress and social advancement and NO to the rolling back of rights and freedoms. You don’t govern or do deals with the far right.”

• Italian opposition parties celebrated the surprise outcome of the French elections.

4.05pm BST

Manfred Weber , leader of the centre-right European People’s party, has written that “far from clarifying the political situation, Macron plunged France into confusion, strengthening the extremes.”

The German politician added that he is “very worried about the far left & far right anti-EU rhetoric. We need a strong democratic force Les Républicains giving a real alternative to put France back on its feet.”

3.27pm BST

Bardella to lead new European parliament group

The French far right National Rally’s Jordan Bardella has been selected as the chair of the new Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament, a Hungarian government spokesperson said.

The first vice chair will be Kinga Gál from Viktor Orbán ’s Fidesz party.

3.07pm BST

Gérald Darmanin , the outgoing interior minister, has said that no one won the election and it is out of the question to govern or support a coalition which would have links with France Unbowed or the National Rally.

2.28pm BST

Jordan Bardella , the leader of the far-right National Rally, said he accepts his share of responsibility for yesterday’s results.

Updated at 2.30pm BST

2.25pm BST

Political paralysis looms in France after shock election result

For more than 50 years, whenever France held a parliamentary election, voters would know the next morning which party would be in government and with what political agenda.

This time it is different. After Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap election , and after the shortest campaign in modern history, French people delivered a spectacular rush of tactical voting to hold back a surge of far-right support . The resulting political landscape is divided and the outcome is complicated. Macron will take time to let the dust settle, his entourage has said.

An alliance of parties on the left , the New Popular Front, surprised pollsters by coming first with a strong result of 182 seats. But it fell significantly short of the absolute majority of 289 that would allow it to instantly form a government. This means the eurozone’s second largest economy, which is also the EU’s biggest military power, is entering a period of uncertainty with no clear roadmap, less than three weeks before it hosts the Olympic Games.

It could take weeks of dialogue and potential coalition-building to come up with a government and a prime minister. But France – with a powerful president and conflictual political system where parties reach vicious standoffs – does not have a recent tradition of building coalitions.

Read the full analysis here.

2.17pm BST

What is the New Popular Front, surprise winner of the French election?

The New Popular Front (NFP), a four-party left-green alliance, was the shock winner of Sunday’s French parliamentary election, returning 182 deputies to a 577-seat assembly now split between three large opposing blocs, none with a majority.

The largest is France Unbowed (LFI), led by the radical-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon . Founded in 2016, LFI is radical left and populist, believing that traditional parties and political organisations no longer serve democracy.

Second comes the Socialist party (PS), the mainstream centre-left party of François Mitterrand and François Hollande . Social democratic and pro-European, it was for decades the largest party of the French left, but scored less than 2% in the 2022 presidential election.

The French Green party (LE-EELV) is the latest iteration of a movement founded in 1984. It has had one spell in government, joining a leftwing alliance with the PS and Communists in 1997, when its then leader, Dominique Voynet , was environment minister.

The French Communist party (PCF), one of Europe’s oldest, was long the main force on the postwar French left and also served in Lionel Jospin ’s PS-led government from 1997 to 2002. It still aims to “overcome” capitalism, but is pragmatic about doing it.

Read the full explainer here.

2.07pm BST

New European group a 'paper tiger', Macron ally says

Valérie Hayer , a Macron ally and leader of the Renew Europe group, has called a new far right grouping in the European parliament a “paper tiger” that “impresses no one.”

The Patriots for Europe group includes Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party and France’s National Rally, among others.

2.05pm BST

Marine Le Pen thanks voters and says victory inevitable

The far right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen has thanked voters who supported her group.

“All my thanks to the ten million voters who made the RN the first party in terms of number of votes and number of deputies,” she wrote.

“The progress in two years is incredible and makes our short-term victory inevitable. It will invite us to also take stock of what can undoubtedly be improved in the future,” she added.

1.53pm BST

Santiago Abascal , leader of Spain’s far right Vox, has congratulated the French National Rally on its “spectacular electoral progress.”

1.16pm BST

Marine Le Pen has been defeated by the left, but who will govern France?

Our panel responds.

1.12pm BST

Italian opposition parties have celebrated the surprise outcome of the French elections, a result that is expected to widen the friction among the far-right allies in Giorgia Meloni ’s government which had been counting on a triumph by Marine Le Pen ’s National Rally.

Elly Schlein , leader of the centre-left Democratic party, said the “extraordinary” leftwing victory proved that “the right can be beaten”.

Giuseppe Conte , who leads the Five Star Movement, said: “The great participation of the French people has rewarded the popular and progressive proposal of those who never had any doubt about peace, the defence of social rights and the protection of the most fragile.”

Meloni, who last week congratulated the National Rally for its performance in the first round of the election, has yet to comment publicly, but sources within her Brothers of Italy party told Corriere della Sera that Le Pen’s defeat demonstrated that the Italian government was “the only stable one in Europe”.

Le Pen’s loss was also a setback for her close ally Matteo Salvini , the Italian deputy prime minister who announced on Monday that his League party had joined Patriots for Europe in the European parliament, the new grouping formed by the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán . Until now, the League had been part of the Identity and Democracy group alongside the National Rally, which has also joined Orbán’s group.

“After a long period of work, the big group of patriots, which will be decisive to change the future of Europe, comes to life in Brussels today,” Salvini said on social media.

12.04pm BST

German chancellor 'relieved' by French election outcome

Olaf Scholz , the German chancellor, has said that he is relieved by the French election results, Reuters reported.

“It would have been a major challenge if the French president had had to enter into a coalition with a right-wing populist party,” Scholz said.

“This has now been averted and we now hope that the president, but also the elected representatives, will succeed in constructively forming a government.”

Updated at 12.12pm BST

11.26am BST

Yonathan Arfi , president of the umbrella group representing French Jewish organisations, the Crif, has reiterated his position that the hard left France Unbowed (LFI) should not form part of a future government.

It is, he wrote, “the moment of truth for the republican left: no coalition is possible with those who have led an anti-Semitic campaign for months!” he wrote.

Many members of French Jewish communities, along with others across the political spectrum, have raised concerns about comments from leading members of France Unbowed which they described as anti-Semitic. Ahead of the election, the Crif published a list of quotes from the party’s leadership which it deemed problematic.

France Unbowed has repeatedly denied allegations that it is promoting anti-Semitism.

Updated at 11.26am BST

11.18am BST

Macron asks Attal to stay on temporarily

Emmanuel Macron has asked Gabriel Attal to stay on as prime minister, for the time being.

Updated at 11.27am BST

11.16am BST

With a view to Germany’s upcoming elections in September in three eastern states where the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) are leading in the polls, the main take away in Germany from the drama in neighbouring France is not to experiment with trying to push the electorate in a certain direction, as it could badly backfire and risks both national and European security as well as voters’ sanity, leaving the centre ground in tatters.

The opposition conservative Christian Democrats’ (CDU) foreign policy expert Armin Laschet said the election result presents an opportunity for the pro-European majority.

“Neither the right-wing extremists around Ms. Le Pen nor the anti-Semitic and anti-German left-wing radicals around Mélenchon have won, but there is a chance for a democratic and pro-European majority,” he said.

Looking ahead to the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg next month, he added:

This is also a lesson for us in the East German state elections. The fight for democracy and Europe is worthwhile.

Kevin Kühnert , general secretary of the SPD, also adopted a more optimistic tone, stating that the success of the left-wing electoral alliance should be celebrated.

“It’s a weight off many people’s hearts – including mine,” he said on German breakfast TV this morning.

The election results contained two messages, he said:

The majority of French people do not want to be governed by right-wing radicals. But the majority of French people also thought that the last few years under Macron had not offered opportunities for social justice.

11.15am BST

Reaction in Germany amongst mainstream parties towards the election result in France has been fairly sombre, despite some feeling consoled that the outcome was not as bad as they had feared.

Foreign policy makers in the three-way coalition of Olaf Scholz are focussing their concern on the emboldened fringes.

Michael Roth , of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), who is the chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, has said there’s no reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

“The march of right-wing nationalists and right-wing extremists has been stopped,” he said in an interview.

“This is a great achievement of the French. But it is still far too early to give the all-clear because the nationalist populists from the right and left are stronger than ever. The middle is weaker than ever. Emmanuel Macron has failed miserably with this.”

Roth said Macron’s experiment had intended to seize control from the left and right and bring it back to the centre, but had ended up doing the opposite.

“In fact, Macron has shredded the political centre,” he said.

11.10am BST

Bruno Le Maire, the outgoing economy minister, has published a lengthy post welcoming the election loss of the far right but also warning of several risks ahead.

“The most immediate risk is a financial crisis and France’s economic decline,” he said.

“The second risk is an ideological fracture of the nation,” he added.

Le Maire called for like-minded groups to come together calling for forces that believe in the market economy, recovery of public finances, the energy transition and European project to disengage from partisan interests.

10.56am BST

French football players have expressed their relief at the election’s outcome.

“Victory of the people,” wrote Aurélien Tchouaméni .

“Congratulations to all the French people who mobilised so that this beautiful country that is France does not find itself governed by the extreme right,” said Jules Kounde .

10.52am BST

Gabriel Attal posted a selfie just before heading out to offer his resignation.

10.42am BST

Gabriel Attal is currently in the Élysée offering his resignation as prime minister.

Updated at 10.42am BST

10.31am BST

Clément Beaune , a Macron ally, has presented a short list of what he thinks should come next:

• Coalition

• Proportional

• Social Democracy

10.27am BST

Gabriel Attal , the prime minister, is on his way to the Élysée to formally offer his resignation.

Updated at 10.33am BST

9.47am BST

While the winner of the French legislative election was a surprise, the result is as expected: a hung parliament of three opposing blocs with hugely different platforms and no tradition of working together – and, under the terms of France’s constitution, no new elections for a year.

So, with Emmanuel Macron having promised not to step down until presidential elections in 2027, what’s likely to happen next?

Here’s a look at the options.

9.16am BST

François Bayrou , a heavyweight who heads a party allied to Macron, has floated an alliance excluding “the extreme left and extreme right”, gathering together a “democratic and republican” grouping which would govern together.

9.00am BST

Marine Tondelier from the Ecologists has a list of qualities a potential future prime minister, in her view, must have.

Among the bullet points: ability to build consensus and repair the country.

8.55am BST

The German vice chancellor, Robert Habeck , welcomed the left’s win against the far right in France but warned that there were challenges ahead, Reuters reported.

“We cannot say this went well and tick the checkbox yet,” Habeck said. “We still need to pay close attention to what happens next in France.”

8.44am BST

Asked if the next prime minister could come from civil society rather than a political party, the Ecologists’ Marine Tondelier did not reject the idea, noting that civil society played a role in blocking the far right.

8.37am BST

Manuel Bompard , from the hard left France Unbowed, said today that Emmanuel Macron must invite someone from the New Popular Front to become prime minister.

8.35am BST

The New Popular Front should present a candidate for prime minister within the week, the first secretary of the French Socialist party, Olivier Faure , said this morning.

8.11am BST

Pedro Nuno Santos, the leader of Portugal’s socialist party, has congratulated the New Popular Front on its victory, but warned that it will now have to beat the far right “in governance and public policies”.

The New Popular Front won the elections in France. The far right was clearly defeated. As Olivier Faure, the secretary general of the socialist party, said: “France deserves better than an alternative between neoliberalism and fascism.”

I congratulate the French left and its unity on this extraordinary result. The best barrier against the extreme right is in the defence and deepening of the social state. United, the left defeated the extreme right at the polls, now it will have to defeat it in governance and public policies.

7.42am BST

The Green leader, Marine Tondelier – whose profile has shot up over the past few days – has called for patience amid the clamour to know what’s going to happen now.

People are keen to know what happens next. I say to them: it’s going to take a little time and that’s normal! In this complicated situation, we will reflect, within the New Popular Front, on the best solutions for France – as much when it comes to form as to substance.

In an interview with RTL radio, she added:

According to the logic of our institutions, Emmanuel Macron should today officially invite the New Popular Front to nominate a prime minister … Will he or won’t he? As this president is always full of surprises, we’ll see.

7.22am BST

Nikos Androulakis, the head of Greece’s Socialist PASOK party, said the French people had “raised a wall against the far right, racism and intolerance and guarded the timeless principles of the French Republic: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.”

Colombia’s leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, also congratulated the French for keeping out Le Pen.

“In humanity’s saddest moments, humanity reacts. This is the worldwide revolution for life, liberty and fraternity. Long live France.”

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a “huge relief” but added: “What it means for Europe on a day to day basis remains to be seen though.” (via Reuters)

7.12am BST

The new leftwing president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum , has also congratulated the French left and Jean-Luc Mélenchon in particular, tweeting:

We congratulate the democratic day in France and the victory of the New Popular Front. Organisation, unity and hope have defeated fear. Congratulations @JLMelenchon.

7.11am BST

More reaction to the election result from across Europe, this time from Spain, where the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, writes:

This week, two of the largest countries in Europe have chosen the same path that Spain chose a year ago: rejection of the extreme right and a decisive commitment to a social left that addresses people’s problems with serious and brave policies.

The UK and France have said YES to progress and social advancement and NO to the rolling back of rights and freedoms. You don’t govern or do deals with the far right.

FYI, Sánchez’s final sentence is probably a swipe at his opponents in Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP), who have made deals with the far-right Vox party to rule several regions .

The PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has raised a few eyebrows on X by ignoring his party’s coalitions with Vox – and the fact that it was prepared to govern with the far right nationally – and saying that the centre should never yield to extremes:

France is one of the main democratic engines of the [European] Union. Europe has always been built through moderation. The political centre must unite to prevent extremists from directing its future.

Updated at 8.29am BST

6.56am BST

6.50am BST

Some pics from the wires as people react to the results around the country:

6.42am BST

Some analysis from Mujtaba Rahman, managing director Europe of the risk consultancy firm Eurasia Group, who says that France is “looking at weeks (months) of gridlock and uncertainty” and quotes a senior official as summing up his own sentiments:

France will have to reinvent itself to avoid the worst case scenario in the near future.

6.36am BST

US Senator Bernie Sanders has also congratulated the French left on their election results:

6.29am BST

“Deadlock” is the most likely outcome of the elections, with no “quick solution” likely in the coming days, according to economist and international law professor Armin Steinbach of HEC Paris business school. He says:

France has no political culture of making coalitions and compromises, like Germany or Italy. That is why it feels like a crisis for the French.

He suggests two main scenarios, first a minority government led by the left wing, leading to a “cohabitation”, in which the president and prime minister come from rival camps. He suggests the NFP could propose a moderate leftwing candidate such as the rather unpopular former president François Hollande . Steinbach continues:

Much depends on whether the NFP will stay united and not break up into old conflicts.

A second scenario could see Macron’s centrist alliance and the Republicans form a coalition minority government.

This would be very unpopular and may trigger protests because he [Macron] clearly lost the election.

On the president, Steinbach adds:

With his self-confidence he will probably stay on as president until 2027. In other countries, the head of state would resign after such a defeat. With this defeat, he lacks the legitimacy to appoint a new government.

6.22am BST

New Caledonia elects first pro-independence Indigenous Kanak MP in decades

New Caledonia has elected a pro-independence Indigenous Kanak candidate to France’s parliament for the first time in decades, in a move seen as a setback to French loyalists in the territory that has been gripped by unrest.

Over the weekend, voters in the French Pacific territory cast their ballots for their representatives in two seats in France’s national parliament. Emmanuel Tjibaou won out over a loyalist candidate in the second round of voting, while rightwing candidate and French loyalist Nicolas Metzdorf won New Caledonia’s second parliamentary seat.

Tjibaou becomes the first pro-independence candidate to win a seat in the national assembly since 1986. A political novice, he is the son of a well-known Kanak independence leader, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, who was assassinated in 1989. His win is viewed as setback for the pro-France movement in the territory.

The election comes weeks after deadly violence first flared in the capital, Noumea, over plans from Paris over voting changes. In May, riots began after lawmakers in Paris approved a constitutional amendment to allow recent arrivals to the territory to vote in provincial elections, a decision – since put on ice by president Emmanuel Macron – that the Kanak population feared would further dilute their influence. Kanaks make up about 40% of New Caledonia’s population.

Tjibaou said the elections were “a proof that democracy is alive” in New Caledonia, and that this should be the only way for people to express themselves, RNZ reported.

Related: New Caledonia: historic win for pro-independence candidate in French elections

6.13am BST

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk summed up the feelings of some in his post welcoming the defeat of Marine Le Pen ’s far-right RN party at the polls, writing, “In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw.”

Le Pen has previously been friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and there had been fears in Kyiv that she may take a softer approach to Moscow and cut back on the military aid Paris has extended to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

6.07am BST

The euro slipped in Asian trade on Monday after the French election results came out, AFP reports. The news agency writes:

The outcome, in which no bloc is expected to have an outright majority, has left the country in a “thick fog” of uncertainty, according to one pollster, with the euro dropping around 0.4% from Friday’s levels before clawing back some of its losses.

“The best that can be said is that neither the (left-wing) NFP nor (far-right) National Rally will be able to implement their respective electoral manifestos in full, which would most worry investors fretful about France’s fiscal situation,” Alvin Tan of RBC capital markets said.

While “the worst outcome for the euro has been averted for now”, Tan added, uncertainty remains “and the fiscal balance is unlikely to improve significantly as a result”.

Updated at 6.07am BST

5.57am BST

Watch far-right leader Marine Le Pen speaking after her party came in third in the elections after leftist and centrist parties struck an electoral deal to vote tactically to prevent it from achieving its predicted first place.

The National Rally leader said the party’s victory had “merely been delayed”:

The tide is rising, but it didn’t rise quite high enough this time.

5.51am BST

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has congratulated the NFP on its election results, tweeting that he was “very happy” with the “demonstration of greatness and maturity” that saw leftist and centrist political forces unite to prevent the election of the far right. He wrote:

This result, as well as the victory of the Labour party in the United Kingdom, reinforces the importance of dialogue between progressive segments in defence of democracy and social justice. They should serve as an inspiration for South America.

Lula has a personal relationship with Jean-Luc Mélenchon , the leader of the largest party in the leftwing blog, France Unbowed, who visited Lula while he was in jail for corruption in 2019.

Lula also met Mélenchon in Paris in 2021 and again in 2023 after being reelected as president.

5.40am BST

Former president François Hollande returns to parliament

Former president François Hollande has returned to parliament, elected in his old constituency of Corrèze under the banner of the leftwing NFP alliance with 43% of the vote.

The former Socialist beat the far-right candidate Maïtey Pouget as well as the outgoing rightwing Republicans MP Francis Dubois, who refused to withdraw from the race despite coming third in the first round.

Hollande, who left office in 2017 with record levels of unpopularity, surprised the country and his former party by announcing his candidacy three weeks ago.

He is hated by parts of the radical left and even the Socialist leadership regards him with suspicion. When he made his announcement one senior Socialist figure was quoted as saying that the party was “devastated” by the news.

Speaking after his election, Hollande said the result had “given us the satisfaction of having ensured that the far right is a minority in the National Assembly but also a huge responsibility towards the French people”.

5.30am BST

Who would be a leftwing candidate for prime minister?

President Emmanuel Macron can choose whoever he wants as the next prime minister according to the constitution, but in practice he needs to chose someone acceptable to parliament – usually the leader of the largest party.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon , leader of hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), the biggest party in the leftwing NFP bloc, which has come out on top in the polls, says prime minister Gabriel Attal “has to go” and that the French left is “ready to govern”.

But it’s unclear who the alliance’s candidate to be prime minister would be, given that Mélenchon is a divisive figure even within his own party.

LFI lawmaker Clementine Autain called on the NFP alliance to gather on Monday to decide on a suitable candidate for prime minister.

The alliance, “in all its diversity”, needed “to decide on a balance point to be able to govern”, she said, AFP reported, adding neither former Socialist president François Hollande nor Mélenchon would do.

The leader of the Socialist Party (PS) Olivier Faure urged “democracy” within the leftwing alliance so they could work together.

“To move forward together we need democracy within our ranks,” he said.

“No outside remarks will come and impose themselves on us,” he said in a thinly veiled criticism of Mélenchon.

In Macron’s entourage, there was no indication of his next move.

“The question we’re going to have to ask ourselves tonight and in the coming days is: which coalition is capable of reaching the 289 seats to govern?”, one person close to him told Reuters.

5.21am BST

How have the papers covered the election?

Here are some of the headlines from the French and UK media:

The Guardian says “Surprise surge for left pushes French far right into third”

Le Figaro writes “The RN fails, the left imposes itself on Macron”

La Libération says “C’est OUF”, a play on words meaning “it’s phew” or “ it’s madness”:

La Croix ’s headline reads, “France says no to RN”:

The Times says “Hard-left leader claims victory in French election shock”:

The Financial Times says “France’s leftist alliance on track to halt rise of Le Pen’s RN, polls show”.

Updated at 6.08am BST

5.14am BST

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the parliamentary elections in France, where people are waking up to an uncertain political landscape after an election on Sunday that saw the leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance win the most votes but without winning an absolute majority.

The result was a blow to Marine Le Pen ’s far-right National Rally (RN), which had been predicted to win the most seats but came in third, as well as President Emmanuel Macron , whose centrist Together alliance lost about 80 seats and came in second place.

A hung parliament is unknown territory for France, which has no modern history of coalition governments. It also means Macron, who has three remaining years in office, will probably “cohabit” with a prime minister who does not share his political affiliations.

Prime minister Gabriel Attal has said he will offer his resignation on Monday but there is no obvious candidate to replace him; Jean-Luc Mélenchon , leader of France Unbowed, the largest party in the NFP, is a controversial figure disliked by even some within his own party.

If Macron attempts to appoint someone from within his own centrist alliance they will be seen as lacking in legitimacy. With no clear path forward the president will be weakened both at home and abroad.

The key developments:

• The leftwing NFP alliance became the biggest force in the French parliament but failed to win an outright majority in a surprise result that saw the far-right National Rally (RN) drop to third place. The NFP won 182 seats in the 577-seat parliament, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance won 163 seats and the RN won 143 seats.

• Prime minister Gabriel Attal said he would hand in his resignation to president Macron on Monday morning, but added that he could stay in place for the short term, if required, while a new government was formed. “Tonight, a new era begins,” he said, adding that France’s destiny would play out “more than ever in parliament”.

• The result means a hung parliament in a country not used to coalition government and which in modern times has always had a dominant party in parliament. Jockeying for the position of prime minister began immediately but there is no clear candidate.

• Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who intends to run for president in 2027, said the her party’s rise to power would continue. She said: “The tide is rising. It did not rise high enough this time, but it continues to rise and our victory has simply been deferred.”

• RN leader Jordan Bardella called the cooperation between anti-RN forces a “disgraceful alliance” that would paralyse France.

• Macron can choose who he wants as prime minister but many within his alliance have said they will not work with France Unbowed, the hard left party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon which is the largest in the NFP alliance. The president could ask a Socialist or Greens MP but they may not be willing. A centrist candidate could also be an unpopular choice as Macron’s alliance lost so many seats in the election.

• Mélenchon said Macron “must invite the New Popular Front to govern” . “The will of the people must be strictly respected,” he said.

• Raphael Glucksmann, from the Socialist party and part of the NFP, urged his alliance partners to act like “grown-ups”. “We’re ahead, but we’re in a divided parliament,” he said. “We’re going to have to talk, to discuss, to engage in dialogue.”