POLITICIANS say France is on the verge of "catastrophe" after the hard-right National Rally won the first round of parliamentary elections.
Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration party is now the dominant force in French politics and at the "gates of power", rivals warned.
The results sparked riots in Paris with just under a week until the second round of voting, which will decide the country's future.
It is the biggest political turmoil in France for decades, and comes a few weeks before the nation hosts the Olympics. National Rally -1 known in French as Rassemblement National, or RN - got 33% of the vote.
It is the only time the hard-right has won the first round of a French parliamentary election.
Most of the 577 seats in the National Assembly will be decided by the run-off vote on Sunday.
If RN gets an absolute majority, by winning at least 289 seats, it would be the first time a hard-right party has taken power in France since the Nazi occupation in the Second World War. On 28%, the New Popular Front - a left wing alliance of parties-came second to RN.
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