For the first time since the Second World War, most things indicate a solid swing to the far right in France. Not since the 80s have more people cast their vote in a French election. The coalition in which the National Assembly, led by Marine Le Pen and the young starlet Jordan Bardella, is part of, has received 34 percent of the vote, according to several election day polls. This means that they are well placed to win the elections for the French National Assembly. Prime Minister candidate Jordan Bardella and the far-right party National Assembly won a majority in the first round of the French election. Photo: CHARLES PLATIAU / Reuters According to forecasts, the far right can win a majority in the second election round, reports AFP. With tonight’s result, they have 29 mandates from an absolute majority. The left-wing coalition ends up in second place with around 29 percent of the vote, and President Emmanuel Macron’s center coalition comes in third with around 21 percent, according to the forecasts. This is a big loss for Macron. Now he is asking for unity at the bottom and broad support for Republican and Democratic candidates in round two of the election. Record high turnout The results from an election day completely outside the usual tick in at 20:00 tonight. Voters flocked to the polls in droves in the first round of one of the most polarized elections in recent history. An election that could end with the far right gaining power in France. Voter turnout landed at 65 percent. Jordan Bardella has mobilized especially young voters to the far right and the National Gathering party. He is the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Photo: Reuters President Emmanuel Macron shocked the nation by dissolving the National Assembly and calling new elections after the far right crushed his center coalition in the European Parliament elections three weeks ago. Now France – and Europe – is a little closer to a landing in the political roller coaster that has been going on ever since. Now the game begins. Tonight’s result is a good indicator of what the final outcome of the election will be, and not least of where public opinion lies. But it is from now on that things really start to boil in French politics. Today was only the first round of the new election. The second round takes place on Sunday in a week’s time, on July 7. Then the French will only get to choose between the parties that have got over the barrier of 12 and a half percent. During the coming week, the parties that are relevant for round two will make battle plans, enter into alliances and perhaps even horse trade. The choice is referred to as a choice of fate. A voter in Wissembourg in the east of France evaluates the candidates. Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP There are 577 seats in the National Assembly, and a party needs 289 to get an absolute majority. Although the National Assembly received the most votes tonight, it is not party leader Marine Le Pen who will be prime minister if they win the election. She is concentrating on winning the presidential election in 2027. Instead, it is star Jordan Bardella, who has mobilized young voters on social media, who is the party’s candidate for prime minister. He has said that he will only try to be prime minister if he gets an absolute majority. About 83 percent of voters have said that they have already made up their minds and that they will not change their minds, according to Ipsos. Purchasing power, immigration and crime The National Assembly has concentrated on three issues in particular in the election campaign. These are the same three issues that have been most important to voters in this election, according to opinion polls from Ipsos: Purchasing power, immigration and crime. Macron has a record low approval rating among the French people. With the war in Ukraine and rising prices for both food and energy as a backdrop, support for the anti-immigration and EU-sceptic party National Gathering has increased. This has happened despite the president’s promise to prevent the far right from gaining a wider foothold. President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron cast their votes earlier today. Photo: YARA NARDI / AFP Dislike of the sitting prime minister and president has increased enormously since the end of the 90s, regardless of the party affiliation the various leaders have had. NTNU professor George Chabert, who researches French political history, believes the people need a break in French politics. – The mood in the French exchange of words now is disappointed and tired. There is a feeling that now something new has to happen, and this election may be precisely the change people are missing, he says. France has both a president and a prime minister, who control the senate and the national assembly respectively. There is an election for the National Assembly. The party that wins the election gets the prime minister. This does not mean that Macron must step down as president. He can sit until the next presidential election, which is in 2027, which he also plans to do – regardless of the outcome of the new election. The election mobilized the largest turnout since the 1980s. In French New Caledonia, people also queued to vote today. Photo: THEO ROUBY / AFP But life as head of state will be much more difficult without a majority from one’s own coalition in the national assembly. In practice, Macron’s power will be severely curtailed. Political gambling When the National Assembly (RN) and the far right made a landslide election in the European Parliament elections on 9 June, Macron responded by announcing new elections in the French National Assembly. Although the French did not vote for their own prime minister that day three weeks ago, it was a strong indicator that the majority of the French people want leaders other than the centrist coalition that is in power today. Macron did not need to call new elections, but did so anyway. – I can’t pretend that nothing has happened, he said on French TV. It shocked most people – not least incumbent Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who now risks having to resign, but who did not know about the new election until Macron announced it to the whole nation. The electoral experiment has provoked both rivals and allies. Many see it as political gambling that only tends to the far right. Macron himself says that the goal was to take back control of French politics, but that is not what tonight’s election results indicate. Published 30.06.2024, at 20.02 Updated 30.06.2024, at 20.16
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The results are clear after the first round of French elections – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
