Against a backdrop of considerable tension – barricaded city centre shop-fronts and 30,000 police on standby – a radically divided France has voted in the second round of the legislative elections. To general amazement, the largest party in the National Assembly is the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) – but none of the major political groupings is able to form a majority government.

So what happens in France now? Who will actually govern?

France will probably be ungovernable for some time to come

First in line to form a government must be the New Popular Front. But unlike Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) or Macron’s Ensemble, no putative prime minister has been put forward by the block. And for good reason: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France’s answer to Jeremy Corbyn, has insisted the prime minister must be chosen from the ranks of the largest party – eg, his La France Insoumise party (LFI). Others in his left-wing NFP coalition do not agree.

So if the New Popular Front cannot agree on a candidate, it then falls to the second most-popular grouping: Ensemble. As the middle-ranked coalition, it is key to the whole process. Without its seats, no majority can be formed. But here’s the rub. Ensemble will have great........

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