Emmanuel Macron has been dealt a major hammer blow today after suffering a devastating loss in the French parliamentary elections.

A left-wing alliance has won the most seats in the French Parliament in Sunday's second-round elections, however, France is headed towards a hung parliament after no party came close to winning an absolute majority.

In the run-up to the election, voters were told to vote for parties they would usually not support in a bid to block Le Pen's National Rally from power.

A number of campaigners were attacked ahead of the vote with some 30,000 police deployed on voting day.

Macron’s Ensemble alliance came in second place securing just 163 seats while Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally came in third place with 143 seats.

The left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) won the most seats (182).

The Elysee said Macron is awaiting the full results of all 577 constituencies “before taking the necessary decisions.”

It said: "In his role as guarantor of our institutions, the president will ensure that the sovereign choice of the French people is respected."