Macron loses absolute majority in parliament, show initial projections

289 seats needed for absolute majority; initial projections show Macron falls well short

President Emmanuel Macron is on course to lose his absolute majority in the National Assembly and control of his reform agenda after the first projections by four pollsters showed Sunday's election delivering a hung parliament.

Macron's centrist Ensemble! alliance was set to end up with the most seats, the polls showed, followed by the left-wing Nupes bloc headed by the hard left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Forecasts by pollster Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed Ensemble! winning 200-260 seats and Nupes securing 149-200. The threshold for an absolute majority is 289 seats in the lower house.

A hung parliament would open