June 19, 2017 4:41 AM

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Macron party wins massive majority in French parliamentary election

In France, early projections showed that President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party won a massive majority in parliamentary elections today, dominating the country's traditional forces in a dramatic re-drawing of the political map.<br/>'<br/>Macron's year-old Republic on the Move (REM) and their allies were set to win between 355 and 425 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, according to partial results after the second round of an election. <br/>'<br/>The result, if confirmed, would give 39-year-old Macron one of France's biggest post-war majorities, strengthening his hand in implementing his business-friendly, pro-EU programme. But turnout was estimated to be extremely low, at around 44 per cent, giving his critics grounds to claim he has no groundswell of support.<br/>'<br/>The assembly is set to be transformed with a new generation of lawmakers — younger, more ethnically diverse and with far more women than the outgoing parliament. <br/><br/>The scale of the change is forecast to be so large that some observers have compared the overhaul to 1958, the start of the present presidential system, or even the post-war rebirth of French democracy in 1945.<br/>'<br/>The Socialists were the biggest losers of the night. The party lost around 200 seats after five years in power under former president Francois Hollande, leaving them with only around 27 to 49 seats.

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