“Far Right Makes Significant Gains in French Parliamentary Elections”
Paris: After the first round of parliamentary elections in France, the far-right party made significant gains. The far-right National Rally Party secured 34% of the votes in the initial round of voting.
The leftist New Popular Front came in second with 28.1% of the vote, followed by Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble group with 20.3%. The Conservative Republicans garnered only 10.2% of the votes. Despite their gains, it remains uncertain whether the far-right can achieve the majority needed to form a government.
Voter turnout was notably higher in this phase compared to the 2022 election. By 4 p.m., 60% of the electorate had voted, marking a 20% increase from the last election’s total turnout of 47.5%.
The National Assembly has 577 seats, with the winners to be determined after the second round of voting, which concludes on July 7. The nation eagerly awaits the final results on that date.
Marine Le Pen, the party’s longtime leader and policy chief, stated that democracy has begun to speak and emphasised the importance of the second round. Le Pen urged for the people’s victory to be secured.
Party president Jordan Bardella warned that a left-led government would lead to chaos and expressed concerns over increased immigration, urging voters to support the party in the second round.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the Left Alliance, highlighted the party’s significant progress and encouraged supporters to vote in the second phase as well.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron called for a broad democratic coalition to prevent left-wing extremists from gaining power. “Don’t give a single vote to the far right,” Macron urged.
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