Elections in France: polls opened for second round. Le Pen’s party named as winner, but without majority
It is this Sunday that the face of the new French Prime Minister will be known, after Emmanuel Macron called elections thanks to his party’s poor results in the European Championships. The polls for the second and final round of the French legislative elections are now open (from 8am in France, 7am in Lisbon), but the results should only be known at the end of the night. The two names in contention for the election are Jean-Luc Mélenchon, from the radical left, and Jordan Bardella, from the extreme right.
The polls will be open until 6pm (5pm in Lisbon) in towns and small cities or until 8pm (7pm in Lisbon) in the country’s main cities, when the first results will be known. Forecasts anticipate a large turnout at the polls, which could end up repeating the 66.7% of the first round, a turnout that has not been recorded since 1997.
Sébastien Courdji/Getty Images (left) Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images (right)
After the party’s electoral success National Regroupment (RN), led by Marine Le Pen and headed by the 28-year-old, Jordan Bardella – who obtained a historic 33.1% in the first round –, the extreme right is expected to be the big winner of these elections §tions. However, Le Pen’s objective of winning an absolute majority could fall by the wayside. According to the survey released last Wednesday, the 3rd, by the Toluna Harris Interactive institute, the National Union could obtain between 190 and 220 seats out of the 577 total in the French Parliament – to achieve an absolute majority they would need 289.
This inability to reach the absolute majority, so coveted by Le Pen, may be the result of left-wing ‘front’ that formed to try to prevent the victory of the extreme right. However, the New Popular Front (NFP), which brings together socialists, ecologists and communists, and is led by Unsubmissive France (LFI, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left party) is not expected to go beyond second place. According to the same survey, it will be between 159 and 183 seats.
Yes p Ensemble, a centrist and liberal grouping led by Renaissance, President Emmanuel Macron’s party, is expected to obtain between 110 and 135 seats. After having reached 20% in the first round, the coalition supported by Macron is expected to fall back to third place.
If these results are confirmed, France could find itself in a situation of great political instability. In other words, without a clear majority and without parties available to negotiate a government coalition, an impasse could occur, an unprecedented situation in France on the eve of hosting the Olympic Games. , scheduled for July 26th until August 11th.
