Le Pen’s hard right looks set to dominate the French parliament

One of the few certainties about this vote is that it is shaping up to be a disaster for Mr Macron’s centrist project. When he was first elected president in 2017 at the age of 39, on a wave of pro-European optimism, youthful energy and political renewal, Mr Macron vowed to “do everything” to ensure there was “no longer any reason to vote for the extremes”. Now, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and friends are on course to become the biggest parliamentary bloc. After coming top in 297 out of 577 constituencies in first-round voting, the RN could triple its seats from 88. It may even come close to securing the 289 needed for a majority. Today, Mr Macron represents incumbency; youth is embodied by Jordan Bardella, Ms Le Pen’s 28-year-old candidate for prime minister.