[Source: Reuters]

Opponents of France’s far-right sought to build a united front to block the path to government of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), after the party made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election.

The RN and its allies won Sunday’s round with 33% of the vote, followed by a left-wing bloc with 28% and well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s broad alliance of centrists, who scored just 22%, official results showed.

While financial markets rallied on relief the RN tally was not greater, it was still a huge setback for Macron, who had called the snap election after his ticket was trounced by the RN in the European Parliament election last month.

But others feared the rise of the RN and its nationalist platform would cause growing tensions in French society.

Whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN can form a government will depend now on how successfully other parties manage to thwart Le Pen by rallying round best-placed rival candidates in hundreds of constituencies across France.

The RN would need at least 289 seats in parliament for a majority. Pollsters calculated the first round had put it on track for anything between 250-300 seats – but that is before tactical withdrawals reshape voter intentions next weekend.