Leftist alliance leads French election, no absolute majority, initial estimates show

France was on course for a hung parliament in Sunday’s election, with a leftist alliance unexpectedly taking the top spot ahead of the far right, in a major upset that was set to bar Marine Le Pen’s National Rally from running the government.

The outcome, if confirmed, will leave parliament divided in three big groups with hugely different platforms and no tradition at all of working together.

That could potentially herald a period of instability, unless the left manages to...