“We were terrified”: France’s centrist and leftwing voters finally feel relief.

Early predictions of a far-right majority were proven wrong, but questions about the future remain. A nervous energy filled the crowd at Lyon’s Place de la République. As the final polls closed in one of the most significant elections in recent memory, hundreds gathered, anxiously awaiting the results.

Just after 8 PM, Florent Martins ran through the plaza, phone in hand. “We won,” the 23-year-old shouted, his voice trembling with disbelief as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. “The left won!”

In a surprising victory, the broad leftwing alliance emerged as the largest force in the French parliament, with the New Popular Front securing 182 seats. Emmanuel Macron’s centrist group, Ensemble, came in second with 163 seats, a stronger showing than expected. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally finished third with 143 seats. “It’s so good,” said Martins. “I’ve been in a panic all day.” Nearby, Veronique Leporte, 69, described the results as stunning. “It’s a huge relief,” she said. “We were so scared.”

This sentiment echoed across the country. In Paris, cries of joy led to spontaneous hugs among strangers and several minutes of applause. Thousands flocked to Paris’s Place de la République to celebrate, waving signs that read “France is stitched together by migration” and “France says screw you to the RN,” mirroring rallies in cities like Toulouse and Nantes. Leading up to the elections, polls had suggested that the RN was poised to dominate the national assembly. Early on Sunday, as voter turnout hit its highest in four decades, the pressing question was whether the RN would secure an outright majority.

By Sunday evening, neither prediction came true. “I think this result is a surprise for everyone, whether you’re the fascists or, like me, on the left,” said Charles Domeignoz, 52, a longtime member of the France Unbowed (LFI) party.

“I think many people, like me, have been sleeping poorly and eating badly for weeks now,” he added. “And tonight, it feels good, doesn’t it?”

For some, the relief was tempered by the realisation that the election still bolstered the RN, which nearly doubled its 88 seats from the previous parliament.

“I want Emmanuel Macron to resign,” said Stéphane, 37, calling on the French president to launch autumn elections. “If he has any courage and honesty, he should resign because he contributed to the rise of the extreme right.” Some of Sunday’s results can be attributed to a concerted effort to block the RN, which intensified after the RN led in the first-round ballot.

From Montpellier to Marseille, people mobilized to keep the far-right from power. Over 200 candidates withdrew between the first and second rounds, forming a united “republican front” to prevent RN victories.

Historians, lawyers, and Muslim leaders rallied people to vote against the RN, bolstered by 10,000 Christians who described the RN as offering “nothing but manipulation and illusion” and scapegoating foreigners.

The RN’s focus had failed, said Ali, 40. “We’re happy because we don’t like racism,” he added. “The RN didn’t talk about salaries, retirement, or pensions. All they talked about was foreigners and Islam.”

However, the election was divisive, emboldening some to target Muslims and people of color as the RN vowed to bar dual nationals from certain jobs, scrap nationality rights for children born in France to foreign parents, and ban headscarves in public places.

The atmosphere in the country was “extremely tense,” Raphaël Glucksmann, who led France’s leftist ticket in the recent European parliament elections, told France Inter radio last week. “France is on the cliff-edge, and we don’t know if we’re going to jump.”

In Lyon on Sunday, dozens of shops had barricaded their windows, preparing for potential violent protests. About 30,000 police were deployed nationwide as France’s interior minister feared some might use the results to cause “mayhem.” Launched in the early 1970s as the National Front, Le Pen’s party once included former Waffen-SS members from WWII.

Rife with antisemitic, homophobic, and racist views, the party was long seen as a danger to democracy. While Le Pen has spent the past decade softening the party’s image, its hostility towards immigrants and Muslims remains.

As exit polls indicated a polarized parliament, some wondered how the results would affect the national assembly.

Analysts warned that the election could lead to prolonged political paralysis in the eurozone’s second-largest economy, just as France prepares to host the Olympics in late July and as Europe grapples with the war in Ukraine.

“It’s going to be complicated,” said one 29-year-old who asked not to be identified. “But that’s an issue for tomorrow. The left didn’t win an outright majority, and we’ll see if they join forces with Macron’s centrists. But today is a good day.”