PRESIDENT Jacques Chirac's ruling centre right coalition suffered a defeat in the first round of voting in French parliamentary elections yesterday.
The right could recover in the second, final round on June 1st, but the contest will be close.
The French ministry of the interior released official results for 380 out of 577 districts where counting had been completed by 2 a.m.
These gave the left 40.27 per cent of the vote and their ecologist allies 8.06 per cent.
The centre right RPR-UDF coalition received only 36.93 per cent, the lowest combined score for the Gaullist parties since Gen de Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic in 1958.
The extreme right wing National Front (FN) had won 14.6 per cent of the vote, its highest score in a parliamentary election.
The FN leader, Mr JeanMarie Le Pen, said the vote was "a great victory" for his party and called on Mr Chirac to resign.
According to projections by French polling institutes, the centre right should obtain between 250 and 270 seats in the next parliament, while the Socialists will have between 255 and 280 seats and the Communists 17 to 23 seats.
The FN could win two seats. To obtain an absolute majority, 289 seats are needed.
Because the constituencies, devised by the former interior minister Mr Charles Pasqua favour the right, it is possible that the left may win the majority of votes in the runoff, but a minority of seats in parliament.
If the left wins the majority on June 1st, the new French government will be headed by the Socialist leader, Mr Lionel Jospin.
France's economic policies could be transformed by a halt in the privatisation of state owned companies and increased welfare spending.
A left wing majority would be reluctant to enforce austerity measures to meet the Maastricht convergence criteria for monetary union.
The Prime Minister, Mr Alain Juppe, said the right still has "a large capacity to mobilise" before the final round next Sunday.
The French wanted to express their desire for change. We must hear this message," he said.
The government announced that Mr Chirac will become involved in the campaign this week. He is expected to send an unequivocal signal that he is dropping Mr Juppe, the most unpopular prime minister since the second World War.
Mr Jospin, said the results "seem to indicate that the French see their future on the left".
It was important that votes cast for a half dozen left wing and ecologist parties be united in the runoff.
"I propose a pact of change for a new, honest democracy that respects everyone, with more humane policies, that will put France back in motion," Mr Jospin said.
