A coalition of left-wing parties appears to have won the most seats in France’s parliamentary elections, according to exit polls on Sunday, dealing a surprise defeat to the far-right National Rally party in its bid to form the country’s first government since World War II.
French voters also appeared to punish President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party following the unexpected result.
According to a poll conducted by Ipsos Talant, national exit polls suggest that Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing New Popular Front coalition will win up to 192 seats in France’s 577-seat National Assembly, followed by Macron’s centrist coalition with up to 170 seats. The National Rally came in third with 152 seats.
Official results were expected to be announced late Sunday night.
The parliamentary vote comes against a backdrop of deep anxiety in France over immigration and inflation-hit household finances, and over the Paris Olympics, which start in less than three weeks. The election was called by Macron after his party performed poorly in last month’s European Union elections.
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“This vote is about putting France back on the right track,” said Jonathan Rodriguez, 29, a butcher from Seine-et-Marne, southeast of Paris, who supports the National Rally party co-led by Marine Le Pen and her protégé Jordan Bardella, 28. He said Macron’s government was a “total farce”.
The National Rally party made a historic gain in the first round of voting a week ago, raising fears that France could have its first far-right government since World War II. The party traces its origins to the pro-Nazi Vichy government. But if exit polls are accurate, French voters on Sunday threw their support behind the new Popular Front to stop a far-right government from taking office.
Le Pen has long argued that EU policies hold France back on everything from agriculture to border security, and that NATO is an unstable alliance that antagonizes Russia. She has repeatedly expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and supported former President Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election. French media have for years investigated financial ties between Le Pen and Moscow, charges she has vehemently denied.
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Sunday’s result could mean the election ends in a deadlock with a so-called hung parliament — a chaotic scenario in which the New Popular Front is the dominant legislative force in the National Assembly but cannot pass legislation without forming a temporary coalition government with other parties.
In France, executive roles are shared between the president and prime minister, with the president traditionally overseeing foreign policy and defence, and the prime minister dealing with domestic issues such as education, social issues and immigration. The line between the two can sometimes be blurred.
It would deal a blow to Macron’s seven-year pro-business policies aimed at revitalizing France’s economy and reforming its bloated welfare state, but it would not formally jeopardize his presidency. The 46-year-old former banker and management consultant, known internationally in recent years for his tireless efforts to draw diplomatic attention to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, has ruled out resigning. His term runs until 2027, when Le Pen becomes eligible to run for president.
Raising the retirement age and solidarity with Israel
In France, Macron has angered many by trying to reform the country’s public services and welfare policies, including the mandatory retirement age, and has drawn the ire of left-leaning voters who criticize him for pushing a bill aimed at reforming residency and citizenship tests that has far-right support. He has expressed “full solidarity” with Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza and called for a ceasefire, a stance that has infuriated both Muslim and Jewish groups alike in a country with large Muslim and Jewish populations.
They see him as “elitist and arrogant” and out of touch with France’s lower and middle classes, said Jean-Yves Camus, an expert on far-right politics at the Paris-based French Institute for International and Strategic Studies.
Camus said many far-right French voters claim politicians like Le Pen and Bardella “speak common sense” on issues from the economy to immigration, but he believes they often fail to take into account that “politics is really difficult in a country as divided as France”.
“What is common sense when it comes to immigration?” he said.
“You can’t just build a border, put up a fence and say, ‘We’re not going to let in any more immigrants.'”
