The ruling Socialist Party has won an outright majority in the French legislative election.

Local news outlets report intermediate ballot counts showed the Socialist Party had won 291 out of the total 577 seats up for grabs at the National Assembly of France’s bicameral parliament.

The election victory will enable the Socialist Party to stably control the lower house without winning the support of other left-wing parties like the Greens and far-left forces.

It will also allow Socialist President Francois Hollande, who ousted former conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy a month ago, to pursue economic policies that are aimed at helping ordinary people, such as increasing taxes on the rich and raising the minimum wage.