The French people went to the polls for the second round of early general elections. After making huge gains in the first round, the far-right parties failed to find what they wanted this time around, according to exit polls. The New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties, emerged as the largest party, according to exit polls. But no party was able to secure a majority large enough to govern on its own.
In France, 49.5 million voters went to the polls again in the second round of early general elections, which were marred by attacks on politicians. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that 51 parliamentary candidates had suffered physical violence during the election period. That is why more than 30,000 police officers were present in the second round.
Exit polls showed no party won an absolute majority. In France, a party needs 289 seats to win a majority in the 577-seat parliament.
In the second round of voting, the New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties, emerged as the leading party in the opinion polls. Projections suggest that it will win between 172 and 192 deputies. The number of deputies for President Emmanuel Macron’s centre bloc will vary between 150 and 170.
The far-right National Unity Party, which came in first in the first round of voting, has fallen to third place this time. According to estimates, the RN will send between 132 and 152 MPs.
Socialist leader Olivier Faure was the first to say in a statement: “France has rejected the National Rally. This is a victory for the New Popular Front,” he said. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced that he would submit his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow (8 July).
The far right is shocked
What attracted attention was that the champagne glasses brought to celebrate the victory of RN party leader Jordan Bardella (28), who is confident of winning and aiming to become prime minister, remained empty.
Bardella, who is seeking the prime ministerial post, called the League of the Left a “disgrace” and said: “As a result, the League is pushing France into the far-left fold of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.”
“The winds of hope have been blowing for months and they never stop,” Bardella said, recalling his first place finish in the first round of the election. “It all starts tonight,” he said.
“Our victory is simply delayed,” said Marine Le Pen, a possible 2027 presidential candidate.
So, is this a surprise? Why did this happen?
Centre and left-leaning parties resorted to a tactic known as “barrage”.
Let me explain in more detail.
According to the French electoral system, candidates who receive more than 50% of the votes in the first round enter parliament directly. In other regions, those who receive more than 12.5% of the votes advance to a second round. In most cases, two candidates remain in the second round, but in some regions, three or even four candidates may face off again. In regions where two or more candidates compete again, the tactic of supporting a far-right candidate and an opposing name is called “crossfire” or “republican front.”
The strategy led Left and Center candidates to withdraw from the race in more than 200 of the roughly 300 constituencies. Candidates, including several ministers, withdrew from the race to support candidates most likely to succeed against their National Alliance rivals.
And it seems this tactic worked.
Attendance is at record levels
According to the latest statistics released by the French Ministry of the Interior, participation in the election is at a record level. It is said to have been around 67%. The last time participation was that high was in 1981, when François Mitterrand was elected President of France.
Will President Macron resign?
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will not step down no matter who wins, saying in a letter to French people a week ago that he will stay on as prime minister until the end of his term in 2027.
Emmanuel Macron.
But if the party loses and National Unity and the New Popular Front win the elections, it will mean around three years of power-sharing, meaning that the leader of one party will lead the country while the other runs the government. This is not a new situation in France; examples have been seen before. In such cases, domestic policy decisions are left in the hands of the prime minister, and foreign and defense policy decisions are left in the hands of the president.
what happened?
Following French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and hold early elections after the European Parliament elections, the first round of elections was held on Sunday, June 30. Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s National Rally party came in first in the opinion polls.
