The political turmoil is destabilizing markets and the French economy, the EU’s second-largest, and could have far-reaching implications for the Ukraine war, international diplomacy and European economic stability.
Following a surge in far-right support in France’s European Parliament elections, President Emmanuel Macron called elections for June 9, saying a renewed appeal to voters would provide “clarity.”
On almost every level, the gamble appears to have backfired. Official results released early Monday showed that each of the three main coalitions fell well short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, France’s more powerful bicameral parliament.
The election results showed that the left-wing New Popular Front coalition came in first with just over 180 seats, beating Macron’s centrist coalition’s more than 160. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies came in third, but its more than 140 seats were well above the party’s previous record of 89 in 2022.
A suspended parliament is uncharted territory for contemporary France.
“Our country is facing an unprecedented political situation and is preparing to welcome the world in the coming weeks,” said Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is due to announce his resignation later the same day.
With the Paris Olympics looming, Attal said he was ready to stay on as president “as long as the job demands” – with three years left in Macron’s term.
“I did not choose to dissolve the National Assembly,” Attal said, more vocal than ever about Macron’s shock decision to force elections. The president’s centrist coalition was once the largest group in the National Assembly, if not the majority. But it managed to pull in members from other camps and thwart efforts to topple him, holding on to power for two years.
The new parliament appears to lack such stability. When Macron flies to Washington this week for a summit of NATO alliance leaders, he will have no clear idea of who will be the next prime minister and will face the possibility that he will be forced to share power with politicians who strongly oppose his policies.
Still, many were delighted. In Paris’s Place de Stalingrad, left-wing supporters cheered and applauded as a video of the alliance’s future was beamed onto a giant screen. Cheers also erupted in Place de la République in eastern Paris, where people spontaneously hugged strangers and applauded nonstop for several minutes after the video was shown.
Medical secretary Marielle Castries was on the Paris subway when the results were first published.
“Everyone was there with their smartphones, waiting for the results, and everyone was overjoyed,” said the 55-year-old. “I’ve been stressed since the European elections on June 9, and now I feel good, I feel relieved.”
Redrawing the political map
The election had reshaped French politics even before the vote was cast, spurring left-wing parties to set aside their differences and coalesce into a new left-wing coalition that pledged to undo many of Macron’s signature reforms, embark on a hugely expensive public spending program and take a much tougher stance on Israel because of its war with Hamas.
Macron described the left-wing coalition as “extreme” and warned that economic policies involving tens of billions of euros of public spending, partly paid for by higher taxes on top earners and the wealthy, could be disastrous for a France already under criticism from EU watchdogs over its debt.
However, New Popular Front leaders immediately pressed President Macron to give the coalition a first chance to form a government and nominate a prime minister.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the most prominent of the left-wing coalition’s leaders, said he was “ready to take power.”
While the Rally National won its most seats ever, the anti-immigration party with historical ties to anti-Semitism and racism fell far short of hope of securing an absolute majority that would give France its first far-right government since World War II.
“I’m disappointed, I’m disappointed,” said far-right supporter Luc Dumont, 66. “Well, I’m happy to see our progress, because in the last few years we’ve been doing better.”
After the party took the lead in the first round of voting last weekend, rivals strategically withdrew candidates from many districts in an attempt to dent their hopes of an outright victory on Sunday, leaving many of the far-right candidates facing off against just one other opponent, making it more difficult for them to win.
Many voters believed keeping the far-right out of power was the most important thing, and in the runoff election they supported a far-right opponent even if it was not from a party they normally support.
Still, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party who is expected to run for France’s presidency for a fourth time in 2027, said the election laid the foundations for “tomorrow’s victories”.
“The reality is that our victory has only been postponed,” she added. But Le Pen’s sister, Marie-Caroline, was defeated by a left-wing candidate in Sunday’s election, winning just 225 votes in her constituency and becoming the loser within the party.
