In a result that took France wholly by surprise, the left-wing New Popular Front (nfp), dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, looks poised to become the biggest bloc in parliament after final-round voting at legislative elections closed on July 7th.
Official final results gave the nfp 182 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. This is far short of the 289 seats needed to control the lower house.
Voters have returned a badly hung parliament, and France is now set for a period of uncertainty and political manoeuvring as the country tries to learn how to act as many other European countries already do, and forge a majority coalition.
