Macron, Left, lead 1st round of parliamentary elections in France

• 

In the first round of the French parliamentary elections, Macron's Renaissance ruling bloc, and the left-wing coalition Ensemble! garnered almost the same result, with 25.7% and 25.6% respectively.

In third place was Marine Le Pen's National Rally, with 18.7% of the vote while Republicans came at fourth place with 10.4%.

Eric Zemmour's Reconquete party garnered 4.2% of the vote, and the remaining parties could not pass the 4% mark.

Fears that the turnout may be low were indeed substantiated, as this round scored the lowest voter turnout in the history of France's Fifth Republic at 47.5%. The lowest turnout that happened prior to this date was recorded in 2017, at 48.3%.

Observers have noted that the French people have been losing interest in the parliamentary elections over the past 30 years at a gradual pace.

Four firms have predicted that Macron's alliance will win between 225 to 310 seats in the second vote on June 19. The leftist coalition, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was predicted to have 150-220 seats. To have a majority, Macron will need a minimum of 289 out of 577 seats.

The second round of the elections will take place on Sunday, June 19.