French far-right leads after first round of legislative elections

French far-right leads after first round of legislative elections
Supporters of French far right leader Marine Le Pen cheer (Thibault Camus/AP)

France’s National Rally surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections, according to results released early Monday, taking the far-right party to the brink of power and dealing a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists in an election that could set the country, and Europe, on a starkly different course.

The results confirmed polling that showed the party, with a history of racism and xenophobia and once shunned by the mainstream, is no longer taboo, confined to the fringes of French politics.

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