Rival French parties seek to build anti-far right front

FILE PHOTO: Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party candidate, deliver a speech after partial results in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections in Henin-Beaumont, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

PARIS (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) on Monday, 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.