[ad_1]
According to exit polls, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party will win about 34% of the votes in the first round of French parliamentary elections. After the voting, President Emmanuel Macron called on voters to vote against the far right in the second round, according to French media reports. Three weeks ago, Macron dissolved the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, after the disastrous defeat in the European Parliament elections and decided to hold early elections.
June 30, 2024 19:51 , Updated: 21:58
photo: TASR/AP, Jean-François Badias
A woman holding her child enters a polling station in Strasbourg during the first round of France’s snap parliamentary elections, Sunday, June 30, 2024. The snap elections were called by President Emmanuel Macron in response to the results of the European elections. The second round will be held on July 7.
The New Popular Front, a left-wing bloc made up of the Socialists, Communists, Greens, France Invincible (LFI) and other smaller groups that united ahead of the election, was expected to win around 28% to 29% of the vote in the first round. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc was third with around 20% to 22%.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur wrote that for Macron, the estimation of the first round of results means a major defeat. Macron’s long-term political partner and leader of RN members in parliament, Marine Le Pen, said that Macron’s camp was “almost wiped out” in the first round of elections. She also called on voters to give her party an absolute majority in parliament in the second round of elections.
Le Pen called on the nationalist alliance to win an absolute majority in the second round of elections. “I urge you to join the coalition of freedom, security and fraternity. Mobilize and let the people win,” Le Pen said shortly after the preliminary election results were announced. She stressed that nothing is more common in politics than a change of power and warned against spreading false fears against her party. Le Pen is president of the RN until 2022.
“We sincerely thank the voters and welcome this result as a first step towards policy change and a sign of confidence that respects and binds us. However, nothing has been won yet and the second round will be decisive,” Le Pen declared.
RN President Jordan Bardella said in response to the election results that he is ready to become prime minister if his party wins an absolute majority after the second round. He also said that in this case he would be a “live-in” prime minister who “respects the Constitution and the office of President of the Republic but does not compromise on the policies we will implement,” according to Reuters.
The French political system is a state of cohabitation when the parliamentary majority and the president have different political views.
Highest voter turnout in a decade
According to preliminary estimates, Le Pen and her allies could become the strongest force in the lower house of parliament, with 230 to 280 seats. However, it may not reach an absolute majority of 289 seats. The left could win between 125 and 200 seats, while Macron’s liberal bloc is in danger of falling to only 60 to 100 seats. However, this estimate is very uncertain due to the electoral system.
Voter turnout was estimated at between 67.5% and 69.7%, the highest in a decade. How many seats each camp gets in the National Assembly will be decided in the second round of elections. That event will take place on July 7.
“The high turnout in the first round (…) proves the importance of this vote for all our compatriots and the desire to clarify the political situation,” Macron said in a written statement, according to AFP. At the same time, he called for broad support for clear “Republican and Democratic” candidates in the second round of elections.
According to the local Ministry of the Interior, as of 5:00 p.m., the voter turnout was 59.4%, about 20 percentage points higher than the same period in the last election in 2022. The final voter turnout in 2022 was 47.5%.
President Emmanuel Macron called for early elections after the far-right National Union (RN) party defeated its centrist counterpart in the European Parliament elections in early June. However, the gamble may not pay off, as according to opinion polls Macron’s coalition will only come in third place behind the Republicans and the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP).
According to most opinion polls, the RN is expected to win the most seats in the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) after the runoff on July 7, although it is not yet clear whether it will win an outright majority. Final polls put the RN at 35% to 37%, the NFP at 27% to 29% and the Macron camp at 20% to 21%.
read more Macron is dapper, walking or riding a horse
Reuters noted that the election could produce France’s first far-right government since World War II, marking a potential change at the heart of the European Union. The RN, a Eurosceptic and anti-immigration party, has long been an “outcast” but is now closer to power than ever before.
Marine Le Pen, who will head the RN until 2022, has been seeking to “detoxify” her party, known for its racism and anti-Semitism, and she has done so against a backdrop of voter anger at Macron, high living costs and growing concerns about immigration.
read more Will the far right take over France? Election comes with fears of violence
Due to France’s electoral system, it is difficult to estimate the exact distribution of seats in the 577-member National Assembly, and the final results will not be known until after the second round. The country has more than 49 million registered voters. Preliminary results will be announced shortly after voting closes.
[ad_2]
Source link
