In France, the left coalition comes in first, Macron second, the far-right third. The best way to defeat fascism is not centrism, it’s a strong left.

Even if this is the case in France, a parliamentary system functions significantly differently than a first past the post presidential system.

A strong left (agreed) that can usefully campaign and govern in coalition with the center-left and center if it’s not in a position to win on its own (also important!) even understanding that the centrists may not be trustworthy allies.

And teamwork

This is a stupid claim. There are so many populist lefts that cater to the right. See Slovakia. See BSW in Germany. So no. Your reasoning: I'm left. So more left would imply less right is nonsense. Good policies. And a media that's critical towards populism will help.

The left coalition allied with centrists, pulling out third-ranked candidates to avoid splitting the vote against the fascists. If they hadn't done this, the fascists might have a majority. So the lesson seems to be that the best way to defeat fascism is for leftists and centrists to work together.

At the end of 1932, the left in Germany had still more mandates than the nsdap. It was the “centrists” who turned to the right in the hope to maintain their power. Just four months later democracy got abolished. I hope that they learned from the past to not repeat history, but I have strong doubts…

Is this an official exit poll, and are there others that show a different result?

A strong, united left willing to make strategic choices and smart tradeoffs rather than endless infighting and purity tests.

It's also strategic alliances.

Why is the extreme right (black) in the center?