Centre-right Bertrand trumps Le Pen in Calais regional vote - exit poll

PARIS (Reuters) - Two exit polls showed the centre-right Les Republicains came top in the first round of a regional election in the northern Hauts-de-France region on Sunday, beating Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National into second place.

President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party failed to reach the 10% threshold to qualify for the second round, the exit polls showed. A win for Les Republicains lead candidate Xavier Bertrand would bolster his chances of becoming the conservative's presidential candidate.

OpinionWay/Cnews poll:

Les Republicains: 39%

Rassemblement National: 28%

Macron's LaRem: 9%

(Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Richard Lough)