France’s left-wing New Popular Front coalition unexpectedly thwarted the far-right’s advance on Sunday, gaining the most seats but falling short of an outright majority in a parliamentary runoff.
According to the election results, the New Popular Front – a coalition of five parties including the far-left French Indies, the Socialists, the French Communist Party and the Greens – won 180 seats Published by France Info on Monday. French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist “Unite” group came in second with 163 seats, while the far-right National Rally and its allies won 143 seats.
With no party able to secure the absolute majority of 289 seats necessary to govern alone, Europe’s third-largest economy now faces a hung parliament.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a member of Macron’s Ensemble party, said on Sunday he planned to resign after the election results. “True to the Republican tradition and in accordance with my principles, tomorrow morning I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic,” Attar said, according to a CNBC translation.
“I know that in light of tonight’s results, many French people feel a certain uncertainty about the future because there is no absolute majority (in parliament). Our country is going through an unprecedented political situation,” Attal added.
“France has rejected the far right and now needs to peel off…the left-wing parts and build a center-left for tomorrow to calm markets,” Allianz chief economist Ludovic Subran told CNBC on Sunday.
Preliminary polls on Sunday suggested that RN would become the largest party in France’s National Assembly, but over the last week centre-right and left-wing factions have joined forces to try to block its advance, withdrawing other, better candidates from many constituencies. .
By providing voters with tighter choices and fewer candidates, opponents of registered nursing hope voters will choose non-registered nursing candidates. The move seemed to work, with anti-RN voters galvanized into action. Polling agency Ipsos said turnout in the second round of voting was as high as 67.1%, the highest level since 1997.
“The head of state must bow and admit defeat. The prime minister must leave,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France’s Insurgent Party, said in a program translated by CNBC. Social media updates after early polling data was released. “Mr Macron must call on the NFP to govern. It is ready to apply its agenda to all its agenda and nothing else.”
He added that the party had “tirelessly” opposed Macron’s policies over the past seven years.
“We reject any alliance with the president’s camp,” Mélenchon said. In another article translated by CNBC.
Mélenchon has become the nominal leader of the NFP, although the alliance has no official leader. France’s Insurgents is considered the largest party in the European Union, although its far-left stance has weakened its appeal among some center-left voters.
France may now be locked in a period of bargaining and instability as political coalitions aim to form a government, but it is unclear how far President Macron is willing to go with a left-wing coalition.
The country finds itself in uncharted waters: President Macron shocked Europe’s political establishment by announcing the decision after his Ennahda party was defeated by national rallies in June’s EU parliamentary elections. Political analysts said Macron’s move was an extreme gamble, with the president betting that French citizens would fear and ultimately reject the prospect of a far-right government. The final round of elections showed that voters ultimately rejected Macron.
According to Reuters, the French president said on Sunday that Macron is currently reviewing the latest election results and will wait for parliament to announce the results of the vote before deciding on the next step.
Jordan Bardella, RN, speaks after exit poll predictions are released condemn According to a translation by CNBC, the “alliance of shame” between Macron and Mélenchon now “pushes France into the arms of the far left.”
Baldera added: “Now more than ever, the National Rally is a single party tonight from (far-left politician) Philippe Poutou to (former French Prime Minister) Edouard Philippe The only choice faced.
According to CNBC, far-right party leader Marine Le Pen said, “This unnatural dam has plunged the French people into great despair” when referring to the strategies of rival parties to prevent RN from advancing.
— CNBC’s Helen Eggleton contributed to this article.
