02:18Police and demonstrators clashed at the Place de la Republique in Paris amid celebrations after exit polls projected a win for the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) bloc in the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Footage shows demonstrators letting off fireworks and throwing bicycles onto a burning barricade before riot police charged to disperse them. The demonstrators launched bottles back at the riot police, who sent a volley of tear gas canisters in response.
A heavy police presence was seen on the Place de la Republique in Paris earlier, with vans and armoured lorries fitted with water cannons blockading the streets around the square.
Thousands of French voters gathered on the square, chanting 'Everyone hates fascism' and holding a large banner reading 'France is a fabric of migration'. Some climbed the Monument to the Republic. The statue of Marianne - who personifies the French Republic - is surrounded by statues representing the nation's founding values of liberty, equality and fraternity, with a lion guarding a ballot box.
After the exit polls were reported, the NFP leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called on French President Emmanuel Macron to admit defeat and invite the NFP to govern, saying that 'the President must bow down and accept this'. He also called it 'a massive popular vote of no confidence'.
Meanwhile, the president of the right-wing National Rally (RN) party Jordan Bardella warned of an 'alliance of dishonour and dangerous electoral arrangements', which he said 'is tonight depriving the French people of a recovery policy' and could now 'throw France into the arms of Jean-Luc Melenchon's extreme left'.
The anti-immigration National Rally topped the polls in the first round, but in the second, candidates frequently stand down to maximise the chances for allies. NFP issued instructions for third-placed candidates to withdraw in favour of Macron's centrists, with the president also calling less explicitly for a 'no vote for RN' - leading to some anger within his own party.
Exit polls projected the NFP on 177-192 seats, with Macron's Ensemble coalition in second with 152-58 and the NR bloc in third place on 138-145.
The NFP brings together green and liberal parties including La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, The Ecologists (coalition), the French Communist Party, Generations, and Place Publique.
Macron called the snap legislative vote following huge losses for his Renaissance party in the EU Parliament elections, which saw a huge surge for Jordan Bardella's NR. The election had not been expected until 2027.
Across the EU bloc, conservative, nationalist and anti-immigration groups also made large gains. Many called for a focus on domestic priorities amid the soaring cost of living, as well as lower taxes, better border security and an end to foreign military interventions, such as in Ukraine.
France's election was held over two rounds, on June 30 and July 7, to elect all 577 members of the National Assembly. Macron has not held a majority in parliament since 2022 and has used executive powers to pass legislation like his pension reforms, which have seen huge protests.
Les Miserables? Barricades burn, tear gas rises as Paris reacts to NFP's shock win over Macron's centrists, National Rally
Police and demonstrators clashed at the Place de la Republique in Paris amid celebrations after exit polls projected a win for the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) bloc in the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Footage shows demonstrators letting off fireworks and throwing bicycles onto a burning barricade before riot police charged to disperse them. The demonstrators launched bottles back at the riot police, who sent a volley of tear gas canisters in response.
A heavy police presence was seen on the Place de la Republique in Paris earlier, with vans and armoured lorries fitted with water cannons blockading the streets around the square.
Thousands of French voters gathered on the square, chanting 'Everyone hates fascism' and holding a large banner reading 'France is a fabric of migration'. Some climbed the Monument to the Republic. The statue of Marianne - who personifies the French Republic - is surrounded by statues representing the nation's founding values of liberty, equality and fraternity, with a lion guarding a ballot box.
After the exit polls were reported, the NFP leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called on French President Emmanuel Macron to admit defeat and invite the NFP to govern, saying that 'the President must bow down and accept this'. He also called it 'a massive popular vote of no confidence'.
Meanwhile, the president of the right-wing National Rally (RN) party Jordan Bardella warned of an 'alliance of dishonour and dangerous electoral arrangements', which he said 'is tonight depriving the French people of a recovery policy' and could now 'throw France into the arms of Jean-Luc Melenchon's extreme left'.
The anti-immigration National Rally topped the polls in the first round, but in the second, candidates frequently stand down to maximise the chances for allies. NFP issued instructions for third-placed candidates to withdraw in favour of Macron's centrists, with the president also calling less explicitly for a 'no vote for RN' - leading to some anger within his own party.
Exit polls projected the NFP on 177-192 seats, with Macron's Ensemble coalition in second with 152-58 and the NR bloc in third place on 138-145.
The NFP brings together green and liberal parties including La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, The Ecologists (coalition), the French Communist Party, Generations, and Place Publique.
Macron called the snap legislative vote following huge losses for his Renaissance party in the EU Parliament elections, which saw a huge surge for Jordan Bardella's NR. The election had not been expected until 2027.
Across the EU bloc, conservative, nationalist and anti-immigration groups also made large gains. Many called for a focus on domestic priorities amid the soaring cost of living, as well as lower taxes, better border security and an end to foreign military interventions, such as in Ukraine.
France's election was held over two rounds, on June 30 and July 7, to elect all 577 members of the National Assembly. Macron has not held a majority in parliament since 2022 and has used executive powers to pass legislation like his pension reforms, which have seen huge protests.
Police and demonstrators clashed at the Place de la Republique in Paris amid celebrations after exit polls projected a win for the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) bloc in the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Footage shows demonstrators letting off fireworks and throwing bicycles onto a burning barricade before riot police charged to disperse them. The demonstrators launched bottles back at the riot police, who sent a volley of tear gas canisters in response.
A heavy police presence was seen on the Place de la Republique in Paris earlier, with vans and armoured lorries fitted with water cannons blockading the streets around the square.
Thousands of French voters gathered on the square, chanting 'Everyone hates fascism' and holding a large banner reading 'France is a fabric of migration'. Some climbed the Monument to the Republic. The statue of Marianne - who personifies the French Republic - is surrounded by statues representing the nation's founding values of liberty, equality and fraternity, with a lion guarding a ballot box.
After the exit polls were reported, the NFP leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called on French President Emmanuel Macron to admit defeat and invite the NFP to govern, saying that 'the President must bow down and accept this'. He also called it 'a massive popular vote of no confidence'.
Meanwhile, the president of the right-wing National Rally (RN) party Jordan Bardella warned of an 'alliance of dishonour and dangerous electoral arrangements', which he said 'is tonight depriving the French people of a recovery policy' and could now 'throw France into the arms of Jean-Luc Melenchon's extreme left'.
The anti-immigration National Rally topped the polls in the first round, but in the second, candidates frequently stand down to maximise the chances for allies. NFP issued instructions for third-placed candidates to withdraw in favour of Macron's centrists, with the president also calling less explicitly for a 'no vote for RN' - leading to some anger within his own party.
Exit polls projected the NFP on 177-192 seats, with Macron's Ensemble coalition in second with 152-58 and the NR bloc in third place on 138-145.
The NFP brings together green and liberal parties including La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, The Ecologists (coalition), the French Communist Party, Generations, and Place Publique.
Macron called the snap legislative vote following huge losses for his Renaissance party in the EU Parliament elections, which saw a huge surge for Jordan Bardella's NR. The election had not been expected until 2027.
Across the EU bloc, conservative, nationalist and anti-immigration groups also made large gains. Many called for a focus on domestic priorities amid the soaring cost of living, as well as lower taxes, better border security and an end to foreign military interventions, such as in Ukraine.
France's election was held over two rounds, on June 30 and July 7, to elect all 577 members of the National Assembly. Macron has not held a majority in parliament since 2022 and has used executive powers to pass legislation like his pension reforms, which have seen huge protests.