A left-wing coalition has won the most seats in the France parliamentary, beating Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which came third.
The left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) alliance secured the biggest number of seats but needed 289 more seats to secure an outright majority.Results following the polls closing on Sunday evening put president Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second place and the far-right in third.
France is now in political limbo, with a hung parliament as no party or alliance has won a majority of seats.
The left won 182 seats, Macron's centrist alliance 168, and Le Pen's National Rally (RN) and allies 143, interior ministry data cited by Le Monde newspaper showed.
But how does the political system work in France? Here is everything we know:
Why does France have a president and prime minister?
France has a semi-presidential system of government, offering almost a balanced power sharing between the president and the prime minister.
What is the difference between the French president and French prime minister?
The president is directly elected by the French people. The French Constitution declares them head of state and gives them control over foreign policy and defence.
After parliamentary elections, the elected president appoints a prime minister but that appointment requires the approval of parliament, and the PM must be voted in by elected officials.
The PM almost always comes from the party that is in power as a result. The prime minister is considered the head of the government and is in charge of domestic policy and day-to-day governing.
Do other countries have this arrangement?
There are several semi-presidential system of government. These countries include:
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- DR Congo
- Djibouti
- East Timor
- Egypt
- France
- Georgia
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mongolia
- Namibia
- Niger
- Palestine
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Sri Lanka
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tunisia
- Ukraine
How often does France have an election?
Parliamentary elections in France are held every five years, or sooner if the president chooses to call one. Until 2002, this used to be every seven years and they are always held on a Sunday.
By law, the campaign has to end by midnight the Friday before the election. There is then an 'election Sunday' where no polls can be published and no electoral publications or broadcasts can be made.
Candidates on the ballot paper must receive over half of the vote in the first round to progress and a second round is organised two weeks later with the top two contenders.
