Surprise French election result puts left in lead

IRESULT NA which took France completely by surprise, the left-wing New Popular Front (National Financing Program), dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, appears set to become the largest parliamentary bloc after the last round of legislative elections that ended on July 7. Ipsos projections, based on early results, gave National Financing Program 171 to 187 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. That would still be far short of the 289 seats needed to control the lower house. Voters re-elected a parliament without an absolute majority, and France is bracing for a period of uncertainty and political maneuvering as the country tries to learn how to act as many other European countries already do and forge a majority coalition.