Emmanuel Macron is calling for “prudence” after his party came second to the hard-left in France’s snap election. 

Mr Macron, who has not spoken or appeared publicly since the result, faces the prospect of becoming a lame duck president presiding over a hung parliament. 

He is privately calling for “prudence and analysis of the results”, according to an aide who spoke on Monday morning. 

Mr Macron managed to bat away hard-right leader Marine le Pen, but failed to generate a decisive victory. 

The left won 182 seats, Mr Macron’s centrist alliance 168 and Ms Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and allies 143, interior ministry data cited by Le Monde newspaper showed.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is due to submit his resignation to Mr Macron on Monday. The left has yet to agree on who it will put forward as its prime ministerial candidate. 

The unprecedented situation is taking shape just as Mr Macron is due to be out of the country for most of the week, taking part in the Nato summit in Washington.