The left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP) would win the legislative elections in France without an absolute majority after a tight second round with the alliance of President Emmanuel Macron and the far right fighting for second place, according to initial projections.
According to the criteria of
The NFP is expected to win between 172 and 215 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly (lower house), followed by the ruling alliance with between 150 and 180 and the far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies with between 115 and 155, according to four different projections. However, it is not yet clear who will be able to form a government.
After these results were known, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attalannounced on Sunday that he will submit his resignation on Monday to President Emmanuel Macron, following the victory of the left-wing opposition in the early legislative elections.
The results are a setback for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has failed in her bid to secure an absolute majority, which forecasts considered possible a week ago, or even to win, which seemed possible two days ago.
The implicit pacts between the ruling party and the left-wing coalition, consisting of concentrating the vote on the candidate with the greatest chance of defeating RN in each constituency, frustrated these projections.
We are at a turning point in history
An RN government, headed by the young Jordan Bardella, would have been the first far-right government in France since the Liberation of Nazi Germany during World War II and a new one in the European Union, alongside Italy, among others.
Artists, sportsmen, unions and organisations have mobilised to stop the far right from coming to power, including football star Kylian MbappĂ©, who had called on people to vote “on the right side” in this tense election.
In the event of any “disturbances”, the authorities announced the deployment of 30,000 police officers and gendarmes on Sunday evening, 5,000 of them in Paris.
But the results are also a blow for the 46-year-old president, who loses the simple majority he has enjoyed since 2022 and will have to share power with a government he does not control. His second term ends in 2027.
Proving that the election was crucial, the turnout (59.71% at 5:00 p.m.) was the highest since 1981, and even former Socialist President François Hollande returned to politics as a candidate for deputy.
What did the polls say before the vote?
The latest projections from two polling institutes show the far-right bloc is far from winning a majority of 289 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly (lower house), with between 170 and 210, followed by the NFP (155 to 185) and the ruling alliance (95 to 125).
Polling stations open in France
Polling stations opened in France on Sunday (around 1 a.m. Bogotá time) for the second round of crucial legislative elections, in which the far right appears to be the favorite and could come close to an absolute majority.
How is participation at this time?
Turnout in the second round of the French legislative elections on Sunday reached 26.63% at 12:00 (10:00 GMT), the highest since 1981, the Interior Ministry announced. In the first round last Sunday, turnout had reached 25.90% at the same time. In the 2017 elections, turnout in the second round was 18.99%.
New participation figure
Voter turnout in the second round of French parliamentary elections on Sunday stood at 59.71 percent at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT), the highest figure since the 1981 elections, the Interior Ministry said.
First screenings
Early projections indicate that the left is leading in the French legislative elections, ahead of the alliance of Macron and the far right.
Projections, according to surveys, in detail
The NFP is expected to win between 172 and 215 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly (lower house), followed by the ruling alliance with between 150 and 180 and the far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies with between 115 and 155, according to four different projections.
The first reactions
French radical left leader Jean-Luc MĂ©lenchon on Sunday demanded that President Emmanuel Macron appoint a prime minister from the left-wing alliance that polls show won the parliamentary elections.
​
​For his part, Jordan Bardella, candidate for prime minister for the far-right National Rally (RN) – which finished third in the French elections – accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday of leaving the country “in the arms of the extreme left of (Jean Luc) MĂ©lenchon.”
Macron’s statements
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for “prudence” after early projections indicating victory for the left in the early parliamentary elections were released, and said that his centre-right alliance “is still very much alive”, according to those close to him.
“The question is who will govern from now on and achieve a majority,” he added. None of the projections give an absolute majority to the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP), which would win the election, followed by the ruling party and the far right.
French Prime Minister resigns
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Sunday that he will resign on Monday to President Emmanuel Macron, following the victory of the left-wing opposition in early legislative elections.
Less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympic Games, the head of the centre-right government has nevertheless said that he will remain in office “as long as duty demands it”, especially since no political bloc has achieved an absolute majority.
When will the results be known?
The first estimates will be known from 8 pm (1 pm, Bogotá time), when the polling stations close.after a campaign marked by insults and attacks on candidates and supporters, and by racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With Efe and AFP
#French #elections #LIVE #Prime #Minister #Gabriel #Attal #announces #resignation #leftwing #victory #legislative #elections