Macron says parties must cooperate after he loses control of parliament

France's president seeks to form a working majority despite Le Pen's far-right party being main opposition

Leaders of France's opposition parties all agree on the need to avoid political gridlock and must now learn to compromise, Emanuel Macron said on Wednesday, as he faces the biggest crisis of his career and unprecedented political deadlock after losing control of parliament.

In his first comments since his centrist grouping fell more than 40 seats short of an absolute majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday, Macron said that agreements needed to be found across party lines and that he would seek over the next weeks to establish a working majority.