The French parliamentary election first-round on Sunday put Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble group neck-and-neck with the leftist coalition NUPES under firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon – a disappointing result for the freshly re-elected president. But Macron’s centrist alliance is expected to get a second-round boost as swing voters rally to moderates – while a relatively strong performance for France’s conservatives gives them a chance to assure Macron a National Assembly majority.