France/ Agreement against the right?

2024-07-02 08:41:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Emmanuel Macron

The result is catastrophic for President Emmanuel Macron's alliance in France. Much later than first announced, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal appeared in front of his official residence and declared: "The lesson of this evening is that the Rassemblement National has never been before the gates of power." "Our parliament has never been in such danger of being dominated by the extreme right."

The clear winner of the first round is - as expected - the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies. They get 33 percent of the vote and will most likely try to increase their share of seats in Parliament dramatically. Macron's centrist camp took 20 percent.

Le Pen: The French want change

"Democracy has spoken, the French elected us to the top and almost extinguished the Macron camp," Marine Le Pen, three-time French presidential candidate from the RN, declared to her supporters. According to her, the high participation makes this result even more valuable.

In total, just over nine million people voted for the RN. The left-wing alliance the New Popular Front also won votes and, with 28 percent, many left-wing candidates qualify for next Sunday's runoff.

But since the elections are held by majority vote, only the one who got the absolute majority in his constituency in the first round or who came first in the second round, gets a seat in the Parliament. According to the principle: winner takes all.

The left and Macron's party are getting closer

The left-wing alliance had previously indicated it wanted to withdraw from all areas where a Macron candidate is in the best position to defeat the Rassemblement National. This position was officially confirmed yesterday evening. The referendum will decide the following question, said the spokesman for the moderates within the left Alliance, Raphaël Glucksmann: "Do we want the extreme right to take power through the ballot box for the first time in this country?"

In fact, President Macron had repeatedly stated during the election campaign that the left-wing alliance was as dangerous as the far-right alliance. Only late in the evening did Prime Minister Attal give the green light. Even the presidential camp is now ready to withdraw its candidates, if a candidate from the left Popular Front has a better chance of winning against the RN.

A decisive vote

In the evening RN leader Jordan Bardella declared himself the only real bulwark against the Left.

"It's perfectly clear what's at stake here," he said. "On the one hand, the terrible left-wing alliance leading to chaos, revolt and ruin. On the other, our right-wing alliance of national unity. We are now the only republican and patriotic shield capable of protecting our institutions, of to restore security, to ensure tax fairness and to protect work".

Only after next Sunday's decisive runoff will it be known whether one of the alliances can secure an absolute majority - or whether a simple majority camp will have to try to form shifting alliances to govern the country./DW