PARIS (AP) — The French left-wing coalition won the most seats in the 2014 general election. High-stakes legislative elections The far-right wave was beaten back in Sunday’s election but failed to secure a majority, leaving France, a pillar of the European Union and Olympic host, facing the shocking prospect of instability in parliament and political deadlock.
Political turmoil could disrupt markets and the French economy (the EU’s second-largest economy), with far-reaching consequences. War in UkraineGlobal Diplomacy and Europe’s Economic Stability.
In Elections announced on 9 JuneAfter the far right made gains in France’s vote for the European Parliament, President Emmanuel Macron said turning to voters again would provide “clarification”.
This gamble appears to backfire on nearly every level. The official results were released on MondayIn the 2014 election, the three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the more powerful of France’s two legislative chambers.
The results saw the New Popular Front left-wing coalition win more than 180 seats, finishing first ahead of Macron’s centrist coalition with more than 160. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies narrowly missed out on a third place, though their 140-plus seats were still well ahead of the party’s previous best showing – 89 in 2022.
Instability in parliament is uncharted territory for modern France.
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“Our country is facing an unprecedented political situation and is preparing to welcome the world in just a few weeks,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said. He plans to resign from his post today.
with paris olympics Meanwhile, Attal said he was prepared to stay in his post “as long as the duty demands.” Macron has three years left in his presidential term.
Attal made clearer than ever his disagreement with Macron’s shock decision to hold elections, saying “I did not choose this dissolution” of the outgoing National Assembly, where the president’s centrist coalition used to be the largest group, although it did not have an absolute majority. Still, it was able to govern for two years, drawing in lawmakers from other camps to fight off attempts to topple it.
The new legislature does not seem to have such stability. When Macron flies to Washington NATO alliance summit this weekThis will leave the country without a clear idea of who the next prime minister will be, and face the possibility that the president may be forced to share power with a politician who is strongly opposed to his policies.
Still, many people cheered. In Stalingrad Square in Paris, left-wing supporters cheered and applauded when a giant screen showed projections showing the coalition ahead. There were also shouts of joy at Republique Plaza in eastern Paris, with people hugging strangers and clapping for several minutes after the projections went down.
When the predicted results were first announced, medical secretary Marielle Castries was on the metro in Paris.
“Everyone had their smartphones and they were waiting for the results and then everyone was very happy,” said the 55-year-old. “I was stressed since June 9 and the European elections. … And now, I feel good. I feel relieved.”
Redrawn political map
The election redrew the political map of France even before votes were cast. It prompted left-wing parties to put aside differences and join forces in a new left-wing coalition. It pledged to roll back many of Macron’s key reforms, launch a massively expensive program of public spending and take a much tougher stance against Israel because of its war with Hamas.
Macron described the left-wing coalition as “extremist” and warned that its economic programme of several billion euros in public spending, partly financed by tax hikes on high earners and the wealthy, could be disastrous for France, which has already been criticised by EU watchdogs for its debt.
Nevertheless, leaders of the New Popular Front immediately pressured Macron to give the coalition the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister.
The left-wing coalition’s most prominent leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, said it was “ready to govern.”
While the National Rally won more seats than ever before, the historically anti-immigration party Anti-Semitism and racism It fell far short of its hopes of winning an absolute majority, which would have given France its first right-wing government since World War II.
“Disappointed, disappointed,” said Luc Dumont, a 66-year-old right-wing supporter. “Well, it’s nice to see our progress, because for the last few years we’ve been doing better.”
After the party topped the first round of voting last weekend, its rivals acted to sabotage its hopes of a clear victory by withdrawing their candidates from several districts on Sunday. This left many right-wing candidates in a head-to-head contest against just one opponent, making it harder for them to win.
Many voters decided that keeping the far right out of power was more important to them than anything else, so they supported their opponents in the second round, even if they were not from the political camp they usually support.
Still, National Rally leader Le Pen, who is expected to run for a fourth time for the French presidency in 2027, said the elections had laid the foundation for “tomorrow’s victory.”
“The reality is that our victory has only been postponed,” he said. But Le Pen’s older sister Marie-Caroline was among her party’s losers on Sunday, beaten by a left-wing candidate and garnering just 225 votes in her district.
Jordan BardellaLe Pen’s 28-year-old disciple, who had been hoping to become prime minister, lamented that the national result “throws France into the arms of the extreme left.”
A statement from Macron’s office indicated he would not rush to invite a potential prime minister to form a government. It said he was monitoring the results and would wait for the new National Assembly to take shape before taking “the necessary decisions.”
Uncharted territory
Unlike other countries in Europe, which are more accustomed to coalition governments, France does not have a tradition of MPs from rival political camps coming together to form a majority. France is also more centralised than many other European countries, with many decisions being made in Paris.
The president had hoped that with France’s fate in his hands, voters could turn away from far-right and left-wing parties and return to mainstream parties closer to the centre – where Macron enjoyed considerable support, winning him the presidency in 2017 and again in 2022.
But instead of uniting behind him, millions of voters saw his surprise decision as an opportunity to express their anger about inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances – including Macron’s style of government.
The intense polarisation of French politics – especially in this fast-paced and intense campaign – could complicate any attempt to form a government. Racism and anti-Semitism marred the electoral campaign, as well Russian disinformation campaignAnd more than 50 candidates reported having been physically attacked — highly unusual for France.
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This story has been updated to remove the exact number of seats reported by French media, as official results do not give exact totals for each main bloc.
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Associated Press journalists Barbara Surk in Nice, France, and Helena Alves, Diane Jeantet, Jade Le Dailly and Alex Turnbull in Paris contributed to this report.
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