Paris (Agencies)
Opinion polls showed yesterday that the left-wing New Popular Front coalition in France won the largest number of seats in the second round of parliamentary elections, putting it on track to achieve an unexpected victory over the right-wing National Rally party without achieving an absolute majority in parliament.
An IFOP estimate said the New Popular Front could win between 180 and 215 seats in parliament in the second round of voting, while an Ipsos poll predicted the left-wing bloc would win between 172 and 215 seats.
A poll by Opinion Way said the New Popular Front would win between 180 and 210 seats, while an Elaph poll predicted it would win between 175 and 205 seats.
According to opinion polls, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc is narrowly ahead of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party in the battle for second place.
289 seats are required to achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly (parliament).
The French Interior Ministry said in a statement that “the turnout in the legislative elections was 59.71 percent at 5 p.m., compared to the 2022 elections, which recorded 38.11 percent at the same time.”
This percentage is much higher than that witnessed in the first round of elections last week, 59.39 percent.
Voter turnout is at its highest since 1981, according to local media.
On Friday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 30,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed, including 5,000 in Paris, to maintain security. A total of 1,094 candidates are competing in the second round, and parties or coalitions must reach 289 deputies to obtain an absolute majority in the 577-seat parliament.
On June 9, Macron dissolved parliament and called for early elections, after the National Rally party won more than 31% of the vote in the European Parliament elections, defeating Macron’s bloc.
The National Rally party won 29.5 percent of the vote alone in the first round on June 30, a figure that rises to more than 33 percent when it joins its allies, according to official election results.
The party alone won more than 9.37 million votes, giving it 37 seats in parliament.
The Left Alliance won 27.99 percent (more than 8.9 million votes), taking second place with 32 seats.
The centrist Together for the Republic coalition, backed by Macron, came in third with just over 20 percent (more than 6.4 million votes), winning just two seats.
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