[ad_1]
Polls opened at 08:00 (local time; 09:00 Greek time) for the second round of parliamentary elections in metropolitan France, a historic election that could see Marine Le Pen emerge as the likely winner, but with uncertainty over whether she will be able to secure an absolute majority in the National Assembly and thus the possibility of forming the country’s next government.
View live images:
Voting French people can exercise their right to vote until 18:00 and 20:00 in major urban centres (local time; 19:00 and 21:00, respectively, Greek time), with the first results expected soon after. Participation is expected to be high again, with participation expected to be on par with the first round (66.7%).
Voting began yesterday in France’s overseas territories and the United States, while 30,000 police officers will be on alert for possible events tonight, including 5,000 in Paris.
Possible scenarios
The two most likely scenarios — A government led by Marine Le Pen’s Eurosceptic National Rally (RN) or a battered parliament would present unprecedented challenges for the EU. The biggest worry about the EU’s traditional political currents is the absolute majority of RNs This will force Macron to “live together” with a hostile government to realize his vision of European sovereignty.
Even if there is no parliamentary majority, resulting in an unwieldy coalition or parties cooperating on a case-by-case basis, it would deprive Macron of a government committed to his policies. Some of his boldest moves will be undermined – from joint EU borrowing to finance defence spending by doubling the EU budget, to the deployment of French troops in Ukraine to train Kyiv’s army.
[ad_2]
Source link
