IRIA News

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, led by Marine Le Pen, won a decisive victory in the first round of the country’s snap parliamentary elections.

According to official results released by the French Ministry of Interior, the RN and its allies garnered approximately 33 percent of the vote, outpacing the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which secured about 28 percent, and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance, which managed around 20 percent.

The outcome puts the RN in a potentially strong position to form a government, although opposition forces across the political spectrum have signaled their intent to unite to block the far-right party in the second round of voting scheduled for July 7.

The snap election was called by Macron following the RN’s unexpected success in the European Parliament elections last month. Macron, perhaps underestimating the RN’s national appeal, gambled that the anti-immigration party with historical ties to anti-Semitism would falter in the broader national elections. However, this strategy appears to have backfired.

In her Henin-Beaumont constituency in northern France, Marine Le Pen celebrated with her supporters, who waved French flags. “The French have shown their willingness to turn the page on a contemptuous and corrosive power,” Le Pen told the cheering crowd, signaling a shift in the national mood.

RN president Jordan Bardella, who is also the party’s candidate for prime minister, described the upcoming second round as “the most important in the history of the French Fifth Republic.” He criticized Macron’s party for being “wiped out” and accused the far left of creating an “existential crisis” that poses “a real danger to France and all the French people.”

Alliance building ahead

In Sunday’s vote, 78 of the National Assembly’s 577 seats were won outright by candidates securing more than 50 percent of the vote in their districts. Exit polls by several news agencies show that the RN and its allies could win between 230 and 310 seats in the second voting round on July 7, falling just short of the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament. Le Pen and Bardella remain optimistic, chasing the goal of an absolute majority.

Macron, facing the rise of the RN, has called for a “broad democratic alliance” to prevent the far right from taking power. “Faced with National Rally, the time has come for a broad, clearly democratic and republican alliance for the second round,” he stated.

Macron emphasized the high turnout in the first round, reflecting the importance of this vote for the French people and their desire for political clarity.

A voté.

Merci à tous ceux qui permettent le bon déroulement du scrutin : vous faites vivre la démocratie. Aux urnes citoyens ! pic.twitter.com/nep3c1wI4e

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 30, 2024

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned that the far right was “at the gates of power” and urged voters to prevent the National Rally from advancing further. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing New Popular Front, announced his intention to withdraw candidates who placed third in the first round to create two-horse races, thereby maximizing the chances of defeating RN candidates.

Demonstrations against the RN have erupted across France, with a notable protest in Lyon. Laurent Berger, former secretary-general of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor and current president of the European Trade Union Confederation, called for a “blockade” against the RN. “This evening, our democracy and our republican values are at stake in the face of the National Rally on the threshold of power,” Berger stated on social media.

The next step in the electoral system

In the French electoral system, if no candidate secures 50 percent in the first round, the top two contenders, along with those who receive at least 12.5 percent of registered voters, move on to the second round. The candidate with the most votes in the run-off wins the constituency.

As the second round approaches, all eyes will be on the political maneuvers and alliances that could determine the future direction of France. With the National Rally on the cusp of unprecedented power, the coming days will be crucial in shaping the nation’s political landscape.