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FRANCE ELECTION: SURPRISE WIN FOR LEFTWING ALLIANCE KEEPS LE PEN’S
FAR RIGHT FROM POWER
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Angelique Chrisafis
July 7, 2024
The Guardian
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_ Marine Le Pen’s National Rally falls into third place despite
strong showing in first round of voting _
Le Pen speaks after French far-right loss: ‘It's unfortunate, we
will lose another year'– video, The Guardian
A leftwing alliance
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become the biggest force in the French parliament after tactical
voting held back the far right, but the shape of the future government
remained uncertain after no group won an absolute majority.
The surprise result for the leftwing New Popular Front – which won
182 seats, followed by president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together
alliance on 163 and the far right in third with 143 seats – showed
the strength of tactical voting against Marine Le Pen’s National
Rally (RN). The far right and its allies had forged a commanding lead
in the first round but were ultimately held back by massive tactical
voting to prevent them winning enough seats to form a government.
Although the left alliance won the most seats, it was more than 100
seats short of an absolute majority. Amid a high turnout estimated at
about 67%, no single group won an absolute majority of 289 seats and
the ability to form a government. The parliament was likely to be
divided into three blocs: the left, centrists and the far right.
France now enters a period of unprecedented uncertainty over the shape
of its future government and its likely prime minister. Macron has
promised to remain as president, but he did not speak publicly on
Sunday night, privately calling after exit polls were released for
people to be “prudent” until the final results were clear on
Monday morning.
It could now take weeks to establish a government and it was unclear
what shape that government could take with the Olympic Games due to
begin in Paris in less than three weeks.
The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, announced that he would hand his
resignation to president Macron on Monday morning. But he also said he
could stay in place for the short term, if required, while a new
government was formed.
“Tonight, a new era begins,” he said, adding that France’s
destiny would play out “more than ever in parliament”.
Attal said: “I know that, in the light of tonight’s results, a lot
of French people feel uncertainty about the future because no majority
has emerged. Our country is in an unprecedented political situation
and is preparing to welcome the world [at the Olympics] in a few
weeks. I will stay in my role as long as duty requires.”
Jockeying for position in the new parliament began instantly. Jean-Luc
Mélenchon, leader of the leftwing La France Insoumise party, said:
“The president must invite the New Popular Front [left alliance] to
govern.” The outgoing interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said:
“I note that today, no one can say they have won this legislative
election, especially not Mr Mélenchon.”
Raphaël Glucksmann of Place Publique and the Socialist party, part of
the left alliance, said: “We’re ahead, but we’re in a divided
parliament … so we’re going to have to act like grownups. We’re
going to have to talk, to discuss, to engage in dialogue.”
Despite placing third, the results were historic for the RN –
representing its biggest ever score in a parliamentary election, and
an increase from the 88 seats it had when parliament was dissolved
last month. But it was much lower than the party had expected after
it topped the vote
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the first round last week.
Jordan Bardella, the RN president, said the parties who had teamed up
to stop the far right were a “disgraceful alliance”. Le Pen, who
intends to run for president for the far right in 2027, said the far
right’s rise to power would continue. She said: “The tide is
rising. It did not rise high enough this time, but it continues to
rise and our victory has simply been deferred.”
The RN’s limited score showed the success of a tactical voting pact
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last week by centrists and the left to hold back the far right.
More than 200 candidates from the left and centre had pulled out of
the second round last week in order to avoid splitting the vote
against the RN. Those parties had called on voters to choose any
candidate against the RN, in an attempt to prevent the far right
winning an absolute majority and forming a government.
The party, which was founded as the Front National by Jean-Marie Le
Pen in 1972
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was presented by the left and centrists as a danger to democracy that
promoted racist, antisemitic and anti-Muslim views. Brice Tinturier,
director general of Ipsos, said the results showed that a majority of
French voters still saw the RN as dangerous.
Clémence Guetté, who was re-elected for the leftwing La France
Insoumise, said the lower-than-expected score for the RN showed that
“this is not a racist country and France does not want to be
divided”.
On Sunday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez hailed France’s
“rejection of the far right”.
He welcomed the shock result alongside this week’s UK general
election where the centre-left Labour party achieved a landslide,
saying both countries “have said YES to progress and social progress
and NO to going back on rights and freedoms.”
When voting projections were announced there were hugs, screams of joy
and tears of relief at the left’s gathering in Paris.
The Place de la République in central Paris was filled with crowds
and a party atmosphere, with leftwing supporters playing drums,
lighting flares, and chanting “We’ve won! We’ve won!”
“I’m relieved. As a French-Moroccan, a doctor, an ecologist
activist, what the far right was proposing to do as a government was
craziness,” said 34-year-old Hafsah Hachad.
Macron shocked his own government and party by calling snap
elections
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9 June after his centrists were trounced by the far right in European
elections.
_ANGELIQUE CHRISAFIS is the Guardian's Paris correspondent.
Twitter @achrisafis [[link removed]]. Click here
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Angelique's public key_
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