Paris: President Emmanuel Macron lost a majority in the second round of parliamentary elections to the French National Assembly. A major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis unless he is able to negotiate alliances with other parties.

He had more than 300 seats, but to maintain his outright majority he needed 289 - and fell well short with 245. The Left Alliance, formed under the leadership of the opposition, Zhang Lukmelan, won 200 seats.

A broad left-wing alliance was set to be the biggest opposition group, while the far-right scored record-high wins and the conservatives were likely to become kingmakers.

Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition, which wants to raise the retirement age and further deepen EU integration, was on course to end up with the most seats in Sunday’s election.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called the outcome a “democratic shock” and added that if other blocs did not cooperate, “this would block our capacity to reform and protect the French.”

“The result is a risk for our country in view of the challenges we have to face,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, while adding that from Monday on, Macron’s camp will work to seek alliances.

“The rout of the presidential party is complete and there is no clear majority in sight,” hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon told cheering supporters.

A hung parliament will require a degree of power-sharing and compromises among parties not experienced in France in recent decades.

There is no set script in France for how things will now unfold. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988.