The projections put President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second, no longer in control of parliament, and the bruised far right in third.
With no bloc securing a clear majority, France faces uncertainty that could rattle markets and its economy, the European Union’s second-largest, and cast a shadow of political instability over the Paris Olympics opening in less than three weeks.
Final results are not expected until late Sunday or early Monday in the highly volatile snap election that redrew the political map of France even before votes were cast, galvanizing parties on the left to put differences aside and join together when Macron announced just four weeks ago that he was dissolving parliament and calling the election, in a huge gamble that the president hoped would shore up his centrist alliance.