PARIS: Marine Le Pen‘s far-right National Rally (RN) party emerged ahead in the first round of France‘s parliamentary elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the unpredictable final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week’s run-off.
The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe showed.That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including Prez Emmanuel Macron‘s Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning 20.5%-23%. The New Popular Front, a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 29% of the vote, the exit polls showed.
Macron, who called the surprise elections just three weeks ago, urged voters to rally against the far right in the second round of balloting. Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an “absolute majority” at parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the far-right to form a new govt with party president Jordan Bardella as prime minister in order to work on France’s “recovery”. The 28-year-old Bardella has said he would oppose sending French troops to Ukraine – a possibility Macron hasn’t ruled out – and refuse French deliveries of long-range missiles and other weaponry capable of striking targets within Russia.
The exit polls were in line with opinion polls ahead of the election, but provided little clarity on whether once next Sunday’s second round is concluded the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a govt to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron. A week of political bargaining now lies ahead of the July 7 run-off. The final result will depend on how parties decide to join forces in each of France’s 577 constituencies for the second round. In the past, France’s centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from taking office, but that dynamic, called the “republican front” in France, is less certain than ever.
Participation in Sunday’s vote was high, underlining how France’s political crisis has energised the electorate. By 1500 GMT, turnout was nearly 60%, compared with 39.4% two years ago – the highest comparable turnout figures since the 1986 legislative vote.
A longtime pariah, the RN is now closer to come to office than it has ever been. Le Pen has sought to detoxify a party known for racism and antisemitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at Macron. Many voters are frustrated about inflation and other economic concerns, as well as Macron’s leadership, seen as arrogant and out-of-touch with their lives. Le Pen’s anti-immigration party has tapped that discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok.
The new left coalition, the New Popular Front, also poses a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance. It includes the French Socialists and Communists, the greens and the hard-left France Unbowed party and vows to reverse an unpopular pension reform law that raised the retirement age to 64, among other economic reforms.
The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe showed.That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including Prez Emmanuel Macron‘s Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning 20.5%-23%. The New Popular Front, a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 29% of the vote, the exit polls showed.
Macron, who called the surprise elections just three weeks ago, urged voters to rally against the far right in the second round of balloting. Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an “absolute majority” at parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the far-right to form a new govt with party president Jordan Bardella as prime minister in order to work on France’s “recovery”. The 28-year-old Bardella has said he would oppose sending French troops to Ukraine – a possibility Macron hasn’t ruled out – and refuse French deliveries of long-range missiles and other weaponry capable of striking targets within Russia.
The exit polls were in line with opinion polls ahead of the election, but provided little clarity on whether once next Sunday’s second round is concluded the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a govt to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron. A week of political bargaining now lies ahead of the July 7 run-off. The final result will depend on how parties decide to join forces in each of France’s 577 constituencies for the second round. In the past, France’s centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from taking office, but that dynamic, called the “republican front” in France, is less certain than ever.
Participation in Sunday’s vote was high, underlining how France’s political crisis has energised the electorate. By 1500 GMT, turnout was nearly 60%, compared with 39.4% two years ago – the highest comparable turnout figures since the 1986 legislative vote.
A longtime pariah, the RN is now closer to come to office than it has ever been. Le Pen has sought to detoxify a party known for racism and antisemitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at Macron. Many voters are frustrated about inflation and other economic concerns, as well as Macron’s leadership, seen as arrogant and out-of-touch with their lives. Le Pen’s anti-immigration party has tapped that discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok.
The new left coalition, the New Popular Front, also poses a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance. It includes the French Socialists and Communists, the greens and the hard-left France Unbowed party and vows to reverse an unpopular pension reform law that raised the retirement age to 64, among other economic reforms.
