Emmanuel Macron’s camp is split over how to confront Marine Le Pen’s National Rally after a brutal election night in which the French president’s party sustained catastrophic losses and Ms Le Pen’s party historic gains.

Ms Le Pen’s anti-Brussels, anti-immigrant party came first with just over 33 per cent of the vote, way ahead of Mr Macron’s Together coalition - a humiliating third on just under 21 per cent.

The New Popular Front, a Left-wing alliance including Leftists, Communists, Socialists and Greens, finished in second on 28 per cent.

While leaders of the New Popular Front made clear on Sunday night they would withdraw their own candidates in districts where another was better placed to beat the RN in next Sunday’s runoff, Macron heavyweights traded insults over whether to stand down for far-Left candidates.

Finance minister Bruno Le Maire on Monday ruled out calling on voters to choose a far-Left candidate from the France Unbowed (LFI) party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, calling the party ”a danger for the nation” on a par with RN, which was “a danger to the Republic”.

However, his comments were seized upon by another Macron heavyweight,  parliamentary speaker Yael Braun-Pivet who hit back: “What Bruno Le Maire has just said is the behaviour of a coward and entitled person. It’s irrelevant, it’s fanciful and not worthy of history”.

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