Macron on course to lose big as far right surges in French parliamentary elections first round
CNN
By Saskya Vandoorne, CNN
(CNN) — Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party has taken the lead in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, initial projections showed, as President Emmanuel Macron’s party slumped to third place.
Initial estimates by IPSOS put the RN bloc in first with 34% of the vote, ahead of the left-wing alliance in second with 28.1%, while Macron’s centrist coalition trails in a distant third with 20.3%.
Projections suggest that, after the second round of voting next Sunday, the RN would win between 230 and 280 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly – falling short of the 289 required for an absolute majority.
The left-wing alliance, the recently-formed New Popular Front (NFP), would have between 125 and 165 seats, while Macron’s Ensemble and its allies would have between 70 and 100.
The projection means that the RN – from which Le Pen has sought to purge the racism and antisemitism that proliferated under the decades-long leadership of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen – is closer to power than it has ever been before, but may not be able to govern with a majority.
The RN election party in the northern town of Henin Beaumont erupted in celebration as the results were announced.
“Democracy has spoken, and the French people have placed the National Rally and its allies in first place – and has practically erased the Macronist bloc,” Le Pen told a crowd of jubilant supporters, but stressed that next Sunday’s second round was key.
“Nothing has been won – and the second round will be decisive,” she said.
With the RN projected to fall short of the 289 seats required for an absolute majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, France may be heading for a hung parliament and more political uncertainty. In bullish speeches before Sunday’s vote, Jordan Bardella – the RN’s 28-year-old leader and candidate for prime minister – said he would refuse to govern a minority government, in which the RN would require the votes of allies to pass laws.
A week of political bargaining will now ensue, as centrist and left-wing parties decide whether or not to stand down in individual seats to block the RN – long a pariah in French politics – from winning a majority.
Macron’s decision to call a snap election – France’s first since 1997 – took the country and even his closest allies by surprise. Sunday’s vote was held three years earlier than necessary and just three weeks after Macron’s party was trounced by the RN at the European Parliament elections.
Minutes after the humiliating defeat, in an apparent attempt to call the electorate’s bluff, Macron said he could not ignore the message sent by voters and took the “serious, heavy” decision to call a snap election.
French voters turned out in huge numbers across the country and its overseas territories. Total voter turnout on Sunday is expected to be 65.5%, the highest in a first round of parliamentary elections since 1997 – according to Ipsos estimates.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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