One of France's biggest newspapers has warned "the far-right is at the gates of power" after Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN, National Rally) took a third of the vote in parliamentary elections.

President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election in the wake of the European Parliament elections in June which saw his party, Renaissance, and its coalition make significant losses.

However, that gamble appears to have backfired after RN won 33.1% of the vote in the first round of elections, beating the left-wing alliance, Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP, New Popular Front), which returned 28%.

Mr Macron's coalition, Ensemble, managed just 21%.

At 66.7% the turnout was the highest for any parliamentary first round election since 1997, with over 10m voting for RN, which took 37 seats while the Union of the Far-Right took one.

The NFP managed 32 seats in the first round of voting with just two for Mr Macron's coalition.

A total of 76 candidates were elected in the first round, with the remaining 501 going to a run-off which will be held on Sunday.

"The far-right is at the gates of power," warned Le Monde. "The political world is torn apart over which position to take in the face of a risk which has become very tangible."

The sign reads to the polls, citizens, a play on to arms citizens from the French national anthemThe sign reads to the polls, citizens, a play on to arms citizens from the French national anthem (Image: Le Monde)

Mr Macron said: "Faced with the Rassemblement National, the time has come for a broad coalition which is clearly democratic and republican for the second round.

"The high first round turnout testifies to the importance of this vote for all our compatriots and the desire to clarify the political situation."

It is not clear whether the president will instruct candidates from his movement to drop out of three-way races to allow the left-wing coalition to win.

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He has described elements of the NFP, in particular Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) as "grotesque" and destructive for France.

Candidates who have qualified for the second round have until Tuesday evening to decide whether or not to drop out.

Ms Le Pen's party would need to secure 289 seats to attain a majority and form a government, having previously stated they would only do so with a majority.

According to Ipsos, the vote share attained by RN would see them fall just short, with a projected seat total of 230-280, but much will depend on how the other parties react.

In up to 315 constituencies there is a three-way race between RN, NFP and Ensemble, with pressure on Mr Macron's coalition to drop out in races where its candidates finished third in the first round of voting.

Mr Mélenchon said the NFP would withdraw all candidates who came third in the first round, saying: "Our guideline is simple and clear: not one single more vote for the Rassemblement National.

Newspaper Libération called on the other parties to unite to defeat the right, its front page reading: "After the shock, form the bloc".

In its editorial it wrote: "The RN is now at the gates of power, the united left resisted. Macron is on the ground and only a republican roadblock can avoid the worst."

Jordan Bardella, who will be Prime Minister if RN wins an absolute majority, responded to the results with an open letter to the French people.

He said: "It's time for France to make a choice.

"After the results of the first round, two clear choices are in front of you.

"The first of these choices are the agents of chaos, made up of the 'New Popular Front' which is, in reality, an alliance of the worst of the extreme left behind Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

"The extreme left represents an existential threat to the French nation. A victory for this coalition, which wants to open wide the gates of immigration and release 20% of prisoners, would signify for France a new regression in public order, an unprecedented curbing of our freedoms and the community values we hold so dear."