MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Russia will watch closely the process of government-forming in France as it can see a shift in voter preferences there, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Obviously, French voter preferences have surprisingly shifted," Peskov said, when asked to comment on the left-wing New Popular Front leading in Sunday’s parliamentary vote in France. "We will continue to watch with great interest the process of forming a government, formalizing blocs and so on," he added.

Peskov said Russia was interested in French developments as he described France as a very important country.

Runoff elections in France

French newspaper Le Monde reported, citing data from the country’s Interior Ministry, that the New Popular Front alliance got 182 seats in the 577-member National Assembly following Sunday’s second round of elections. President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition came in second, garnering 168 seats. The right-wing National Rally party will become the third-largest faction, with 143 lawmakers.

Therefore, none of the main political forces received an absolute majority in the lower house of parliament, making it hard to form a new cabinet. On Monday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal arrived at the Elysee Palace to put in his resignation but Macron refused to accept it, asking the premier to stick around for a bit longer for the sake of the country’s stability.

Macron called early elections to the legislature on June 9, following the presidential coalition’s defeat in the European Parliament elections. The first round of the vote was held on June 30.