– This is due to the French electoral system with one-man constituencies where “the winner takes it all”. That’s according to Kjerstin Aukrust, associate professor of French literature and area knowledge at the University of Oslo. Keeping the far right out of power Aukrust explains that this front the other French political parties put up against the National Assembly has been effective when it comes to keeping the far right out of power in the country. – This shows very clearly that the French are not ready to let the far right gain government power in France, she believes. The overview from the French Ministry of the Interior shows that the National Assembly received 8,745,239 votes. In comparison, New People’s Front (also called Union de la gauche) got 7,005,513 votes. Macron’s party, Sammen!, received 6,314,418 votes. The election results in France This is how the seats in the National Assembly were distributed after the second round of the elections in France, according to Le Monde: New People’s Front: 182 Ensemble: 168 National Assembly: 143 Republicans: 45 Right: 15 Left: 13 Centre: 6 Regionalists: 4 “Miscellaneous” : 1 Aukrust also explains that it was decisive for the outcome that over 220 candidates withdrew from the election before the second round. – The Macronists or the candidate from the Left Alliance withdrew to make it more likely that the candidate most likely to beat the far right would actually succeed. – But how democratic is it to use the electoral system in this way? – Then it’s actually like two-thirds who don’t vote for them do everything they can, even voting for a party they don’t agree with, to keep the far right away. So it shows that even though the National Assembly has increased support, there is still a majority of the French population who are strongly against it. And that they are willing to go to great lengths to stop them. – Against the complete chaos, Aukrust believes that there is no clear winner in this election. Now the left alliance has said that they will have a candidate for prime minister ready during this week, but it will not be easy, she believes. – It will be complete chaos now. There is no one who has received an absolute majority, no one who has been able to govern in the majority. On the night of Monday, the parties in the left-wing alliance met for a first meeting after the election to talk about the way forward. The collaboration has no formal leader and was formed to contain the far right. A candidate for prime minister this week Now some sort of coalition must be entered into, for which there is no tradition in France. The left has not seemed particularly keen on it. Jean-Luc Mélenchon leads the indomitable France. Photo: Thomas Padilla / AP If it presents a candidate for prime minister from the far-left party Indomitable France, it will hardly be someone that President Emmanuel Macron will accept, she believes. – So if the left alliance lasts the week, it will be exciting to see, concludes Aukrust. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party, announced that he would submit his resignation on Monday. President Emmanuel Macron asked Attal to continue in the job until further notice to ensure stability in the country. Published 08.07.2024, at 13.05
ttn-69