The RN was seen winning around 33% of the vote, exit polls from BFMTV showed.

That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including President Emmanuel Macron’s Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning 22%. The New Popular Front, a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 28.5% of the vote, the exit polls showed.

The results from the high-turnout vote, which were in line with polls ahead of the election, provided little clarity on whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a government to "cohabit" with the pro-EU Macron.

A week of political bargaining now lies ahead of the July 7 run-off. The final result will depend on how parties decide to join forces in each of France’s 577 constituencies for the second round.

In the past, France’s centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from taking power, but that dynamic, called the "republican front" in France, is less certain than ever.