Macron's alliance deprived of National Assembly majority, French election exit polls show

euronews.com:

A victory with a taste of defeat: President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble alliance is certainly in the lead in the second and final round of the legislative elections, but far from an absolute majority in the face of the strong breakthrough of the united left as well as the National Rally, according to exit polls.

If confirmed, these unprecedented results ask the question of whether Macron will be able to pass the reforms he promised when he was reelected in April, including lowering taxes, raising the retirement age, and welfare program reform.

According to the first estimates, Macron's Ensemble is poised to end up with between 200 and 260 seats according to different polls, far from its objective of reaching an absolute majority of 289 deputies out of 577.

The Macron camp will now have to battle against a powerful united left coalition NUPES and its leader, the hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon. NUPES is to become the main opposition force with between 149 and 203 deputies in the National Assembly, according to various polling institutes.

The parliamentary election -- the fourth in two months after the presidential election -- was largely ignored by the French as parts of the country were suffering from an unprecedented heat wave, affecting the second round's turnout. 

The abstention rate is expected to reach between 53.5% and 54% -- up by more than a point compared to the first round (52.49%), according to the polls. 

In the first round, the outgoing centrist majority came neck and neck with the left-wing alliance, with around 26% of voters opting for each.