Le Pen’s party excluded from power, according to exit polls

Mr Macron cannot dissolve parliament for a year.

Tensions were running high before the exit polls were released. From Paris to Nantes, via Lyon and Marseille, shopkeepers in major cities boarded up their storefronts on Sunday in anticipation of the protests and riots that will follow the results.

In Paris, police have asked shopkeepers on Rue de Rivoli to board up their windows in case of electoral unrest and violence. Some shopkeepers had boarded up their windows before the first round of voting on June 30 and never removed them.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has mobilized 30,000 police and gendarmes across France, including 5,000 in Paris for the second round. Authorities have said they fear outbreaks of violence, both from far-left and far-right extremists.

The Elysée Palace indicated that Mr Macron would wait for the “structuring” of the new Assembly before “taking the necessary decisions”, particularly on the next Prime Minister.