The first round of voting in the early general election held in France after President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly on June 9 ended at 9:00 pm Japan time. As the vote counting continues, exit polls published by Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe show that the far-right National Rally Party (RN), led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, who came in first in the European Parliament, is expected to be accepted in the EP elections and finish first in the elections as the 34th candidate.
The New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire) is a left-wing coalition led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, made up of the Indomitable France (LFI), the Greens (EEVL), the Socialists (PS) and the Communists (PCF). The Ensemble coalition, which includes Macron’s Renaissance party, is estimated to win 20.3% of the vote.
According to exit polls, the RN is expected to win 260-310 seats in parliament, the New Popular Front 115-145 seats, and a coalition including Macron’s party 90-120 seats. To form a government, a party needs to win 289 of the 577 seats in parliament. Participation in the election was 67.5 percent.
In a statement following the initial election results, Macron publicly called for broad Democratic-Republican unity against the far-right National Rally party.
“The French people voted clearly and showed that they want to turn the page after seven years in power.”
Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN national parliamentary group, said she was “delighted by such a high turnout, which confirms tonight’s result. With a clear vote, France has shown it wants to turn the page after seven years of rule. “She called the result a first step towards choosing change, saying, “The inhabitants of the 11th constituency of Calais give me the honour of being elected as of tonight,” adding that she hopes for an absolute majority in the second round.
Second election on July 7
The RN, France’s emerging far-right party, is seeking an absolute majority in the general election – at least 289 of the 577 seats – but members of parliament need to receive more than 50 percent of the vote to be elected. Candidates who receive the support of at least 12.5 percent of voters are eligible to move on to the second round. It remains unclear who will win a parliamentary majority in the election, with the first round taking place today and the second round on July 7, but the final results will not be known until the voting process closes on July 7.
Macron dissolves National Assembly after AP defeat
Meanwhile, in France’s AP elections, held from June 6 to 9, the far-right National Unity Party came in first by a large margin, while Macron’s party, L’Onaissance, came in second at the ballot box. After failing to achieve the results he hoped for in the AP elections, President Macron announced his decision to dissolve the National Assembly on June 9.
