French Prime Minister: I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has announced his intention to submit his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, after his party failed to win a majority in the country's legislative elections.

He added that if his resignation was rejected, he was prepared to remain in his post "as long as duty required", ahead of the start of the Olympic Games in Paris in three weeks.

More than two hundred candidates from the left and the center had withdrawn from constituencies that were to witness a race between three candidates in the second round, strengthening the chances of the National Rally's opponents.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is leading the presidential camp's campaign, had warned that "the danger today is a majority controlled by the extreme right, this would be a disastrous project."

For her part, far-right leader Marine Le Pen denounced the manoeuvres of "those who want to remain in power against the will of the people."

The French BFM TV channel, citing data from polling stations, published the preliminary results of the vote, which indicate that the coalition of left-wing parties, the New Popular Front, is leading the elections in France, having won between 175 and 205 seats in parliament, while the Together coalition led by Emmanuel Macron is temporarily in second place, having won between 150 and 175 seats in parliament.

In third place, according to what was published by the channel, came the right-wing National Rally party led by Le Pen, which won between 115 and 150 seats in parliament.

BFM TV explained that "neither the New Popular Front, the Together Movement, nor the National Rally were able to obtain an absolute majority in the French National Assembly."