President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal alliance and the opposition alliance led by left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon were neck and neck in Sunday’s French general election. This is apparent from the first forecasts published by the television channels at 8 p.m. after the elections. According to this, the two alliances were each about 25 percent nationwide.
Mélenchon counted the partial results as a win. “The truth is that the presidential party is beaten and defeated in the first round,” he said in Paris on Sunday evening. “In light of this result and the extraordinary opportunity it represents for our personal lives and the future of our common homeland, I call on our people to pour out next Sunday, naturally to support the ill-fated projects of the majority of Mr Macron “, he said. Watch the second round in a week.
Candidates need a majority in the constituency
The 577 parliamentary seats are filled according to the first-past-the-post system. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority in the relevant constituency is elected. In most constituencies this will not be the case until the second round. According to estimates by various institutions, the Macron alliance could receive 255 to 310 mandates, the left-wing alliance 150 to 210 mandates. So far, the president can count on an absolute majority in the National Assembly. Whether he can defend them will not be known until next Sunday in the second round of the parliamentary elections.
Top representatives of the Left Alliance pointed out that they had qualified for the second round in about 500 constituencies. This means that the race for the majority is still open. The new alliance includes leftists, communists, greens and socialists. Mélenchon’s “Unconquerable France” party is likely to win about half of the seats.
Le Pen ends up in a drain
The right-wing populist Marine Le Pen claims to participate in the second round in her constituency in Hénin-Beaumont next Sunday. Her right-wing national party Rassemblement National came up with forecasts of about 19 percent, but could only count on 10 to 45 mandates due to the exile by the other parties. Le Pen nevertheless described her party’s performance as a “massive victory” and called for President Macron’s camp to be denied an absolute majority in the second round.
The then strongest opposition, the conservative Republicans, fell with allies to just 11 to 14 percent or 40 to 80 seats. The turnout was estimated at about 53 percent.
Macron needs a majority in parliament
Despite dissatisfaction with his first term in office, Macron took advantage of the fact that the parliamentary elections in France were seen as confirmation of the presidential election. In particular, supporters of the winner participate in the vote, while others often stay at home.
For Macron, the parliamentary elections are about whether he can carry out his plans in his second term. These are, for example, the controversial pension reform, purchasing power support in the crisis and urgently needed improvements in education and health care. The liberal also wants to focus more on environmental policy, but above all wants to continue with the expansion of nuclear energy in addition to renewable energy sources. For all this he needs a majority in parliament. The lower house, the Senate, is less important than the National Assembly and is currently conservative.
Should the votes only suffice for a relative majority, the president and government would be forced to seek support from the other camps. It is likely that there will then be a minority government that will try to rely on center-left or center-right forces, depending on the project.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
