Scuffles have broken out between protesters and police in Paris after the projected results of the first round of the French presidential election.

Crowds of "anti-fascist" groups swarmed the Place de la Bastille, angry that far-right leader Marine Le Pen is advancing the French presidential runoff.

Partial results from France's first-round presidential election show far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron leading.

Police fired tear gas to disperse an increasingly rowdy crowd and riot police surrounded the area.

Video shows a protester lobbing a plank of wood at riot police and being pepper sprayed in return.

Protesters have greeted several of Le Pen's campaign events, angry at her anti-immigration policies and her party, which she has sought to detoxify after a past tainted by racism and anti-Semitism.