Macron will give a speech on European sovereignty that will be closely watched after he said in an interview that Europe must not be a 'follower' of either Washington or Beijing on Taiwan.

Meanwhile the far-right under Marine Le Pen posted the best legislative performance in its history, becoming the strongest single opposition party with 89 seats, up from eight in the outgoing chamber.

The result from the second round poll threw French politics into turmoil, raising the prospect of a paralysed legislature or messy coalitions with Macron forced to reach out to new allies.

The figures indicate that voting intentions have remained largely unchanged since the first round of voting last weekend despite energetic campaigning by a new leftwing alliance that is promising to thwart Macron's plans.

If Macron's coalition does fall short, it is expected to lead to messy bill-by-bill deals with right-wing parties in parliament, or he would have to try to poach opposition or independent MPs to his side.

Opinion polls in recent days give Macron a solid and slightly growing lead although a surprise Le Pen victory cannot entirely be ruled out.

Macron has not officially announced he will seek a second mandate but there is little doubt he will throw his hat in the ring.

France, the US, Japan and other governments worry China is seeking to gain influence in their strategic spheres.

Changing the pension system is divisive and could risk losing Macron the presidential election next year.

Two people have been detained and are being questioned.

Retired and serving French soldiers are meant to stay out of politics and religion on pain of serious penalties.

He blames the slow pace of vaccine rollouts in the EU on leaders' failure to anticipate how fast vaccines would be developed.