The French left-wing coalition won the most seats. High-stakes legislative elections On Sunday, the semi-final results showed that France had defeated the far-right surge but failed to secure a majority, leaving the country with the alarming prospect of a parliamentary deadlock and threatening political paralysis in the European Union pillar and Olympic host country.
It could shock markets and the EU’s second-largest economy, with far-reaching implications. Ukrainian WarWorld diplomacy and economic stability in Europe.
As the election was held on June 9th,After France’s far-right vote surged in the European Parliament, Macron said he would provide “clear explanations” when sending voters back to the ballot box.
On almost every level, the gamble appears to have failed. The result so far has been that France has been plunged into a political fog, with the three major blocs of the left-wing Coalition, the far-right National Rally and Macron’s centrists all falling far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly.
“Our country is facing an unprecedented political situation and is preparing to face the world in a matter of weeks,” said Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who plans to resign on Monday.
As the Olympics approach, he said he was prepared to stay in office “for as long as duty requires.” Macron has three years left in his presidency.
Jean-François Badias / AP
Attal has been more vocal than ever in his opposition to Macron’s shocking decision to call elections, telling the outgoing National Assembly that “I did not vote for this dissolution,” where the president’s centrist coalition was the single largest group, though not an absolute majority. Nevertheless, it has managed to govern for two years, resisting attempts to bring in lawmakers from other factions to topple it.
The new parliament appears to have lost that stability. With most of the votes counted, the left-wing coalition is leading Macron’s centrist coalition, while the far right is in third place, confirming the picture that pollsters predicted.
In Paris’s Stalingrad Square, left-wing supporters cheered and applauded as a video showing the alliance’s future flashed on a giant screen. Shouts of joy also rang out in the Place de la République in eastern Paris, where people spontaneously hugged strangers and applauded nonstop for minutes after the video began.
Marielle Castri, a medical secretary, was riding the Paris subway when the forecast was first announced.
“Everyone was waiting on their smartphones for the results, and then everyone was happy,” the 55-year-old said. “I was stressed after June 9 and the European elections. … And now I feel good. I feel relieved.”
Macron said in a statement released by his office early Sunday that he would not rush to invite a potential prime minister to form a government. He said he would wait to see how the results turn out, wait until a new National Assembly is formed, and then make the “necessary decisions” and respect “France’s sovereign choices.”
A deadlocked parliament, with no single bloc able to secure the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the more powerful of France’s two legislatures, would be unfamiliar territory for modern France.
Mohammed Badra / AP
Unlike other European countries accustomed to coalition governments, France has no tradition of parliamentarians from competing political blocs coming together to form a working majority.
Voters at the Paris polls were keenly aware that their vote would have far-reaching consequences for France and beyond.
“Individual freedom, tolerance and respect for others are at stake today,” said Thomas Bertrand, a 45-year-old voter who works in advertising.
Racism and anti-Semitism The election campaign was marred by a Russian cyber campaign, with more than 50 candidates reporting physical attacks, something highly unusual for France, where the government deployed 30,000 police officers on election day.
Tensions are running high as France celebrates a very special summer. Paris is set to host a very ambitious summer. Olympic GamesThe national football team has reached the semi-finals of the Euro 2024 Championship and the Tour de France is racing across the country with the Olympic flame.
Reflecting the high stakes, after decades of voters being apathetic about these votes and increasingly apathetic about politics in general, the turnout was larger than it usually is in legislative elections. As of 5 p.m. local time, turnout was 59.7 percent, the highest on a voting day since 1981, according to the French Interior Ministry. The turnout of nearly 67 percent in the first round was the highest since 1997.
Pierre Rubin, a 45-year-old business manager, worried that elections could not produce an effective government.
“This is a concern for us,” Rubin said. “Will it be a technocratic government or a coalition government made up of (different) political factions?”
Laurent Cipriani / AP
Whatever happens, Macron’s centrist bloc will have to share power. With many of his allies losing or withdrawing in the first round, there aren’t enough candidates running to come close to the majority he had when he was first elected president in 2017 or the majority he won in the 2022 parliamentary vote.
Both are unprecedented for modern France and will make it harder for the EU’s second-largest economy to make bold decisions such as supplying arms to Ukraine, reforming labor laws and reducing its massive deficit. Financial markets have been jittery since Macron surprised even his closest allies by calling early elections in June after his National Rally party won the most seats in France in European Parliament elections.
Whatever happens, Macron has said he will not resign and will remain in office until his term ends in 2027.
Many French voters, especially those in smaller cities and rural areas, are frustrated by low incomes and what they see as Parisian political leadership being elitist and indifferent to the everyday struggles of working people. National Rally has often connected with these voters by blaming immigration for France’s problems, and has won broad and deep support over the past decade.
Le Pen has softened her party’s stance. She no longer calls for leaving NATO or the EU, a move that is designed to make the party more electorally viable. But the party’s core far-right values remain intact. It wants a referendum on whether being born in France is enough to qualify for citizenship, curbs on dual citizenship rights, and greater freedom for police to use weapons.
Valerie Dodemann, a 55-year-old legal expert, said he was pessimistic about France’s future because of the uncertain outcome of the crucial election.
“No matter what happens, this election is going to leave people dissatisfied on all sides,” Dodeman said.
