Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen's party becomes the strongest force on Sunday. Macron, the loser in the election, calls for a broad democratic alliance against the right.
Applause for you: Marine Le Pen on Sunday night Photo: Yves Herman/rtr
PARIS taz |/dpa/afp | The first projections and estimates based on the results of the first round of the elections for members of the National Assembly immediately confirmed the predictions of the polling institutes. The far right continues its rapid advance in the European elections with a comparably high percentage of votes.
According to information from the TF1 television channel, the candidates of the National Assembly (RN) obtained 34.2 percent at the national level, the leftist Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire) 29.1 percent and the government parties united under the Ensemble name behind President Emmanuel Macron. 21.5 percent and the rest of the conservatives of the Les Républicains (LR) party, who had not joined the RN, received around 10 percent, while everyone else together received 4.3 percent.
Drastic collapse in the middle
This particularly illustrates the drastic collapse of the centrist liberal parties that were previously represented in Macron's governing coalition. In response to the advance of the far right, the left-wing opposition parties (Socialists, Communists, Greens and La France insoumise) united to form a new electoral union and thus gained ground. However, the percentages are only an indication of a trend and do not really allow for a precise conversion, because in most constituencies there is a second round with two or three finalists. The rise of the far right to power seems to be confirmed.
Based on these results, the private broadcaster believes that RN could have between 240 and 270 seats after the second round of elections next weekend. This would mean that the far-right would not obtain an absolute majority to govern, with 289 seats.
Will the RN achieve an absolute majority?
According to these calculations, the Popular Front would have between 180 and 200 seats, the Macronists, who have governed until now, only between 60 and 90, the conservatives of LR between 30 and 50 and others between 13 and 21 seats. Another institute provided different figures to the public broadcaster France-2, according to which the leader of the RN party, Jordan Bardella, could have an absolute majority of up to 300 deputies as a possible prime minister.
France's majoritarian electoral system makes such projections speculation, especially as it remains unclear in how many of the 577 electoral districts a candidate was immediately elected with more than 50 percent in the first round and where there will be runoff elections.
It was already foreseeable that in numerous constituencies not only two, but three candidates could run for a seat next Sunday. To do this, it is necessary to have received at least 12.5 percent of registered voters. You can also withdraw in favor of another finalist. Opinions between the left and conservatives and Macronists still differ on the question of how to stop right-wing extremists before they gain power in the government.
The very high voter turnout in France shows the extent to which voters were aware that this date would likely go down in political history. Turnout reached a level not seen in France for 27 years, with almost 70 percent of the 49 million registered voters. In the last election in 2022, only 47.5 percent of those eligible to vote cast a ballot.
Macron calls for a “democratic and republican meeting”
President Emmanuel Macron called on voters on Sunday, immediately after the polls closed, to prevent the right-wing camp from winning in the second and decisive round of elections. “In view of the National Assembly, it is necessary to form a broad, democratic and republican alliance for the second round of elections,” Macron said, according to a press release from the Elysee Palace on Sunday.
In the original French, Macron spoke of a “great meeting clearly democratic and republican”that must oppose Le Pen's National Assembly.
The founder of the French Left Party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, absolutely wants to prevent right-wing nationalists from winning the second round of elections. He therefore called on left-wing candidates to withdraw in certain cases. In constituencies where the left-wing alliance came third and the right-wing alliance came first in the second round, left-wing candidates should withdraw, Mélenchon said on Sunday. “Under all circumstances, our instructions are clear: not a single vote for the RN,” Mélenchon said.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen has campaigned to help the right-wing nationalist party win an absolute majority in the second round of elections. “I ask you to join the coalition of liberty, security and fraternity,” Le Pen said on Sunday night. “Mobilize so that the people win.” In politics, nothing is more common than a change of power, Le Pen warned against false fears against her party.
Editor's note: The text was updated several times after the polls closed at 8 p.m.