French left beats Le Pen’s far right in election shock
The left-wing alliance in France won the most seats in parliament in a dramatic election, dealing a surprise blow to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen, writes Politico.
In the first round of voting a week ago Le Pen’s National Rally came top and was aiming to secure the most seats in France’s legislature for the first time in the party’s history on Sunday. But tactical voting and collaboration between Le Pen’s opponents to keep her party out of power paid off, final results showed.
The election, however, looks set to throw the country into a period of political turmoil, with no single group coming close to winning enough seats for a majority in parliament.
President Emmanuel Macron gambled on a snap election after a stunning defeat in last month’s European Parliament election, promising “a clarification” he hoped would put the far right back in its box. Instead, he lost seats and landed France in greater uncertainty.
Even so, the mood inside the president’s camp was upbeat on Sunday night, with Macron himself striking a defiant tone. At a gathering of his political allies, the French president galvanized his troops: “Our ideas are still alive and [we] haven’t lost voters,” he claimed, according to one participant who spoke to Paris Playbook.
Macron’s own position as president was not at stake: He is due to remain in office until 2027. His Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has said he’ll offer to resign, though who could take over is far from clear.
With results in for all districts, showing an unusually high turnout, the left-wing alliance won 188 seats in France’s 577-seat National Assembly — a gain of almost 60. That put it ahead of Macron’s liberals, who finished on 161 seats, down more than 70 since 2022.
The far-right National Rally and its allies finished with 142 MPs in the new legislature, an increase of more than 50 on two years ago.
