PARIS (AP) — A key runoff election takes place in mainland France on Sunday that could deliver a historic victory for Marine Le Pen. Far-right national rally And either reverse that inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision or create a hanging Congress and political gridlock.
French President Emmanuel Macron has taken a big gamble by dissolving Parliament and calling general elections after his centrist party suffered a crushing defeat in the June 9 European Parliament elections.
The sudden election in this nuclear-armed country Ukraine Warinternational diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability, almost certainly undermining President Macron’s remaining three years in office.
In the first round of voting on June 30, the anti-immigration, nationalist Rally National party led by Marine Le Pen won the largest number of votes in history.
More than 49 million people are registered to vote in the election, which will determine which parties control France’s powerful 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and who will become prime minister. If support for Mr Macron’s weak centrist majority falls further, he could be forced to share power with parties that oppose many of his pro-business, pro-European Union policies.
Voters at the polls in Paris were keenly aware of the far-reaching implications, not just within France but also abroad.
“It’s all about individual freedom, tolerance and respect for others,” said Thomas Bertrand, a 45-year-old voter who works in advertising.
More than 50 countries will hold elections in 2024
Racism and anti-Semitism It has ruined the election campaign. Russian Cyber CampaignMore than 50 candidates have reportedly been physically assaulted – highly unusual in France – and the government plans to deploy 30,000 police on polling day.
The tensions come as France celebrates a special summer. In Paris, the highly ambitious Olympic Gamesthe national soccer team Euro 2024 Semi-Finals Championship, and Tour de France The Olympic torch is traveling across the country.
According to the French Interior Ministry, turnout was 26.63% as of noon local time, slightly higher than the 25.90% reported at the same time in last Sunday’s first round.
The first round saw the highest turnout since 1997 – around 67 percent – and ended nearly three decades of deepening voter apathy towards legislative elections, and, increasingly, politics in general among French people.
Macron cast his vote in the seaside resort of La Touquet with his wife Brigitte. Gabriel Attal The vote took place earlier today in the Paris suburb of Vanves.
Ms. Le Pen will not be voting because there will be no runoff election in northern French constituencies because she won her seat last week. Across France, 76 other candidates won seats in the first round, including 39 from her National Rally party and 32 from the left-leaning New Popular Front coalition. Two of Mr. Macron’s centrist candidates also won seats in the first round.
Elections will close at 8pm (1800 GMT) on Sunday in mainland France and Corsica. The first voting estimates are due to be published on Sunday evening, with official results expected to be published late Sunday or early Monday.
Voters in the Americas and the French overseas territories of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and French Polynesia cast their ballots on Saturday.
If the Rally National party wins an absolute majority and its 28-year-old leader wins, France will have its first far-right government since the Nazi occupation of World War II. Jordan Bardella Mr Macron was sworn in as prime minister. His party came in first in the first round of voting last week, followed by a coalition of centre-left, far-left and Green parties, and Mr Macron’s centrist bloc.
Pierre Leban, a 45-year-old business manager, worried about whether the elections would produce an effective government.
“That’s a concern for us,” Rubin said. “Will it be a technical government or will it be a coalition made up of (different) political forces?”
of The outcome remains highly uncertainOpinion polls taken between the two rounds of voting suggest the Rally National may win the most seats in the 577-seat National Assembly but fall short of the 289 needed for a majority. It would make history if a party long considered a pariah with historical ties to xenophobia and Holocaust downplaying becomes France’s largest political force.
If he wins a majority, Macron would be forced to share power with a prime minister who deeply disagrees with the president’s domestic and foreign policies, an awkward arrangement known in France as “cohabitation.”
Another possibility is that no party will win a majority, leaving parliament in limbo, which could lead Macron to negotiate a coalition with a center-left coalition or to form a non-party technocratic government.
Whatever happens, Mr Macron’s centrist bloc will be forced to share power: Many of his candidates lost or withdrew in the first round, leaving him short of the majority he won when he was first elected president in 2017 or the most seats he could win in the 2022 parliamentary elections.
Both are unprecedented for modern France and will make it harder for the European Union’s second-largest economy to make bold decisions on arming Ukraine, reforming labor laws or reducing its huge deficit.Financial markets have been reeling since Macron surprised even his closest allies by announcing snap elections in June after his National Rally party won the most seats in France. European Parliament Elections.
Sitting in a deckchair along the Canal Saint-Martin in eastern Paris, Fernando Veloso said people were confused by the prospect of a divided government.
“It would be chaotic,” said the 67-year-old retiree. “Can a co-existing government rule properly with Macron still in power? It’s a difficult question.”
“Tensions are rising,” Veloso added. “I’m worried. I’m very worried.”
Macron said he would not step down, whatever happened, and would stay on as president until the end of his term in 2027.
Many French voters, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, are frustrated with low incomes and a political leadership in Paris that they see as elitist and out of touch with the daily struggles of working people. The Rally National has built up broad and deep support over the past decade by connecting with these voters, in part by blaming immigration for France’s problems.
Le Pen has softened many of the party’s positions and no longer calls for withdrawal from NATO and the EU in order to make the party more likely to win elections, but the party’s core far-right values remain intact: it wants a referendum on citizenship by mere birth in France, limits on the rights of dual nationals and greater freedom for police to use weapons.
With the outcome of a key election hanging in the balance, Valérie Daudemann, a 55-year-old legal professional, said she was pessimistic about France’s future.
“No matter what happens, this election is going to leave people dissatisfied on all sides,” Daudeman said.
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Sark reported from Nice, France. Associated Press writer Alex Turnbell in Paris contributed to this report.
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