Poll shows French President Macron’s bloc ahead in parliamentary election

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist political camp is seen as slightly ahead of its main left-wing rival in the first round of this month’s parliamentary elections, an Ipsos/Cevipof poll for Le Monde newspaper showed.

Macron’s ‘Ensemble’ bloc is seen winning 28% of votes in the first round, versus 27.5% for the left-wing ‘Nupes’ bloc. Voting takes place on June 12 and June 19.

It added that Macron’s centrist camp was expected to win between 275 and 315 seats in the French parliament, where an absolute majority requires 289 seats. Macron needs a majority to help implement pro-business reforms.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)