What happens now that far right leads in France's parliamentary elections?

The far-right National Rally party came out top in the first round of France's snap legislative elections on Sunday. But with another round of voting to go, the next French parliament is not yet decided.

Preliminary results released overnight by the Interior Ministry put the National Rally (RN) and its allies on just over 33 percent, followed by the New Popular Front (NFP) left-wing coalition on around 28 percent.

President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance, Ensemble, was third with just over 20 percent.

Nearly 67 percent of French voters turned out for the early election, almost 30 percent more than took part in the first round of the last parliamentary elections in 2022. 

The RN's leader in parliament, Marine Le Pen, said the party's victory was "without ambiguity", while its candidate for prime minister, Jordan Bardella, was already looking forward to his time in office.

But who heads the next French government is still to play for, as the country heads into a crucial week before the second and decisive round of voting on 7 July.

Calls to unite

Le Pen was one of 76 candidates who won enough votes in the first round to secure their seat directly.

The remaining 501 seats will only be decided on Sunday. At least two candidates, and in many cases three or even four, are still in the running for each.

The next stage will largely depend whether other parties unite against the far right, as they have done successfully in previous elections.

The leaders of the NFP have already promised to pull out their third-place candidates from contests where another camp stands a better chance of beating the RN. 

Macron too has called for a broad "democratic and republican alliance" to keep the far right out of power, though other members of his camp expressed reservations about giving way to candidates from hard-left France Unbowed, the largest party in the NFP.

An official statement from the Ensemble list said its members would only stand down for rivals "with whom we share the essential: the values of the Republic".

Macron's outgoing prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said that Ensemble could withdraw third-place candidates in "more than 60" constituencies.

Meanwhile the right-wing Republicans, who placed fourth with just over 10 percent of ballots, declined to join the calls to vote strategically.

Their president Eric Ciotti, who has been shunned by the rest of the party leadership since throwing his hat in with the RN, called on other Republicans to follow his suit and help "the entire right wing" to victory.

Deadline to declare

All those who placed first or second in the first round, as well as any others who got the votes of at least 12.5 percent of the total electorate, are eligible to stand in the second round.

The race will take shape by Tuesday evening, which is the deadline for candidates to confirm whether or not they're running.

A blitz of campaigning then runs until Friday night, followed by a media blackout throughout most of the weekend. 

Polls open Sunday morning, with the first predictions expected shortly after 8pm.

A faction needs at least 289 seats for an outright majority in parliament, which would allow it to choose a prime minister and form the next government.