Political paralysis looms in France after second shock election result

With parliament roughly split into three blocs, it could take weeks for typically conflictual MPs to build coalitions

• France election – live updates

For more than 50 years, when France held a parliamentary election, voters would at least know the next morning which party would be in government and with what political agenda.

This time it is different. After Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap election, followed by the shortest campaign in modern history, French people delivered a spectacular rush of tactical voting to hold back a surge of far-right support. The resulting political landscape is divided and the outcome is complicated. Macron will take time to let the dust settle, his entourage has said.