A second round of voting is scheduled for June 19. If the group then fails the 289th limit of an absolute majority – which pollsters expect, Macron will become the first French president to rule the country not to win a parliamentary majority. Since the electoral reform of 2000.

“The reality is that after the first round, the presidential party is being beaten and defeated,” Melenchon claimed on Sunday after announcing early predictions.

Sunday’s vote was clouded by a drop in enthusiasm, with turnout expected to be 47 percent according to Interior Ministry data – the lowest in the first round of parliamentary elections since 1958, when the current French Fifth Republic was created.

Partial results from the Interior Ministry also indicated that the far-right National Rally and the founding right-wing Republican Party were lagging behind at 19.9 percent and 10.58 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, right-wing political commentator Eric Zemmour – his new far-right party Reconquest! He received less than 5% of the vote in the early results – he did not qualify for the next round of voting for the parliamentary seat he had targeted.

Parliamentary elections in France operate on a two-round system, just like presidential elections. If no one wins more than half of the vote in the first round, all candidates who receive at least 12.5 percent of registered voters are eligible for a second round.

The Elysee announced in May that government ministers who were defeated in parliamentary elections would have to resign from their ministerial posts.

Among the 15 ministerial-level officials running for election, there are several at risk of losing including Clément Bonn, the Minister Plenipotentiary for Europe who has been prominent in France’s response to the Ukraine crisis.