MACRON SWEEPING ALL BEFORE HIM

NEW French President Emmanuel Macron’s party is set for a huge majority in parliament after a first round of voting yesterday.

His En Marche! (Republic On the Move) party and its ally Modem are set to win more than 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, two polls said. One estimate of the number of seats Mr Macron, who will play a key role in the outcome of the Brexit talks, will win was between 415 and 445. Another was 400 to 445. A second round of voting next Sunday will determine the final number.

Mr Macron created a shock by winning the presidency last month only a year after forming his centrist party, sweeping aside traditional Socialist and Republican contenders as well as far-Right leader Marine Le Pen.

At 3 , Mr Macron is the youngest French leader since Napoleon. He is seeking a powerful mandate to push through plans to reduce worker protections, boost security and clean up corruption in politics. Polling agencies projected that turnout would be at a historically low 50 per cent, reflecting voter fatigue.

Miss Le Pen’s National Front won only between 13.1 and 14 per cent of the vote.