PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies were on Monday battling to prevent the far right from taking an absolute majority and control of government in a historic first after his gamble on early elections backfired. The far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen won a resounding victory in the first round of the polls Sunday, with Macron’s centrists trailing in third behind a left-wing coalition.

But the key suspense ahead of the second round on July 7 was whether the RN would win an absolute majority in the new National Assembly, enabling it to form a government and make Le Pen’s protege Jordan Bardella, 28, prime minister. Most projections published by French polling organisations showed the RN falling short of an absolute majority, but the final outcome remains far from certain.

A hung parliament could lead to months of political paralysis and chaos — just as Paris is preparing to host the Olympic Games this summer, and while France on the international stage takes a prime role in backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is likely to be forced to resign after the second round, warned that the far right was now at the “gates of power”. The RN should not get a “single vote” in the second round, he said. Raphael Glucksmann, a key figure in the left-wing alliance, said voters had “seven days to spare France from catastrophe”.

The RN garnered 33 percent of the vote, compared to 28 percent for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, and more than 20 percent for Macron’s centrist camp, according to preliminary results.

But with less than 100 seats being decided outright in the first round, the final composition of the 577-seat National Assembly will only be clear after the second phase.

The second round will see a three-way or two-way run-off in the remainder of the seats to be decided, with Macron’s camp hoping that tactical voting will prevent the RN winning the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority.