The far-right National Rally (RN) party won a landslide victory in the first round of the country’s legislative elections on Sunday, crushing the centrist coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron.
It all began when the French far-right, who had secured more seats and votes than any other French party, celebrated their extraordinary win in the European Parliament elections. Even while this victory is significant, it generally has little consequence because European elections are seen as second-order polls with lower voter turnout and less direct influence on national policy.
Still, the outcome was suddenly thought important enough to force President Emmanuel Macron to take an unexpected step. Choosing not to wait for a better time, he announced that there will be early parliamentary elections on June 30, 2024.
This decision was viewed as risky since it was taken without extensive consultation with important experts, including Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Macron’s party ultimately lost this risk as it came in third place with a mere 20% of the vote in the first round of the French parliamentary elections. The far-right’s political dominance was unintentionally increased by this circumstance.
Official results from the Interior Ministry were made public early on Monday. They showed that Marine Le Pen’s party and allies had 33% of the vote, followed by a group of left-wing parties with 28%, and Macron’s centrist coalition, which was on the verge of disintegrating.
There was exceptionally high turnout, which increased the turbulence. According to the most recent voter participation data given by the Interior Ministry.
Given that President Macron’s government has been accused of subtly encouraging the spread of far-right ideology, it is not surprising that low voter participation is occurring. Since his victory in 2017, Macron is said to have normalized far-right discourse, a move that has drawn criticism. The first warning sign of this tendency was his involvement in a contentious 2019 interview with the far-right journal Valeurs Actuelles, in which he addressed sensitive topics including immigration, Islam, and national identity.
In a speech to the public on Sunday night, Macron’s prime minister, Gabriel Attal, stated, “The lesson is that the extreme right is at the gates of power.”
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To ensure that Macron shares power with Le Pen’s preferred prime minister, Jordan Bardella, RN’s new poster child, voters are asked to support Le Pen’s party and give it a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
If the anti-immigration, populist RN wins the most seats in the National Assembly, it will be a significant turning point in the political history of the nation, even if it is unclear if it will be able to secure an outright legislative majority in the second round of voting.
A little more than two weeks remain before the Paris 2024 Olympic opening ceremony.
The movement’s founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s father, Marine Le Pen, stated in statements that were broadcast live late Sunday that “democracy has spoken.”