Bardella pledges to be 'prime minister for all French people' after topping election results

Three weeks after sweeping to an overwhelming victory in the European elections, the far-right National Rally (RN) on Sunday cemented its position as France's leading party, taking a comfortable lead in the first round of the snap legislative poll.

"French people have given a clear verdict and confirmed their clear desire for change by putting the candidates of the National Rally and its allies in the lead," RN leader Jordan Bardella said in his victory speech shortly after 8pm local time.

RN is on track to secure around 33.2% of the vote nationally, according to an Ipsos poll. That's five points ahead of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance and a whopping 12 points ahead of the centrist Ensemble coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron.

If the vote is confirmed in the second round next Sunday, it could give RN between 230 and 280 seats in the National Assembly.

That's a huge bump from the 89 it had before the chamber was dissolved on 9 June, though perhaps still not enough to reach an absolute majority, which requires 289 seats.

Bardella's five-minute victory speech was delivered in central Paris in front of a room full of journalists from around the world.

And no one else: not a single RN executive to spin the results for journalists, nor supporters to cheer and jeer at the right moments.

The whole exercise seemed choreographed to demonstrate his prime ministerial chops.

A sombre-looking Bardella pledged that he would be "the prime minister for all the people of France ... respectful of opposition, open to dialogue and concerned at all times with the unity of the people".

"Seven days now separate us from a historic choice and I hope that this second-round campaign can take place in a climate of calm, honesty