Surprise win for French leftwing alliance keeps far right from power | First Thing

Crowds rejoice in Paris as New Popular Front pushes Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, who led the first round of voting, into third place. Plus, is rising at 5am really the secret to happiness?

Good morning,

The New Popular Front (NFP), a left-green alliance dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left France Unbowed (LFI), has emerged as the shock winner of France’s snap election, with 182 MPs in the 577-seat assembly.

How did people react internationally? Senator Bernie Sanders congratulated the French left for “taking on rightwing extremism and winning.” The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, hailed France’s “rejection of the far right” and welcomed the result alongside this week’s UK general election, where the centre-left Labour party achieved a landslide.

What does France’s hung parliament mean for governance? Due to no outright majority, France is likely heading for a lengthy spell of political uncertainty and instability, potentially characterised by at best a minimum of legislative progress, and at worst by parliamentary deadlock.