France's Macron on track for strong majority in Parliament after first round of voting

French President Macron wins big in parliament
(Image credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/AFP/Getty Images)

French President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist party appears on its way to a strong majority in the powerful lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly, after winning 32.3 percent of the vote in the first round of national legislative elections on Sunday. Macron's party, Le Republique en Marche, and its allied MoDem party together are projected to win up to 445 of the 557 seats in the National Assembly; 298 seats would be a majority. The center-right Republican Party came in second place, with just under 16 percent; the far-right National Front took 13.2 percent; the far-left France Unbowed grabbed 11 percent of the vote; and the outgoing ruling Socialist Party won just 7.4 percent.

"France is back," said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe after the vote. Socialist leader Jean-Christophe Cambadélis lost his seat in the first round. The second round of voting is next Sunday, June 18.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.