France is on the brink of a crucial parliamentary election, with the hard right National Rally expected to make significant gains. The election, called by President Emmanuel Macron after the National Rally’s victory in the European Parliament elections, will determine the makeup of the country’s National Assembly for the next five years.
The first round of voting took place on June 30, with the National Rally winning 33.2% of the vote, followed by the hard left New Popular Front with 27.9%, and Macron’s centrist Ensemble with 20.7%. However, the National Rally did not win any seats outright, with 76 seats being filled through runoff elections.
The second and final round of voting will take place on Sunday, July 7, with polls projecting the National Rally will win the most seats, but fall short of the 289 needed for a majority. In an attempt to block the National Rally’s momentum, over 200 candidates from third-place hard-left and centrist parties have withdrawn from the election, leaving only two candidates in many districts.
The election’s outcome is crucial, as it will determine the direction of France’s legislature for the next five years. A National Rally victory would be a significant blow to Macron’s centrist platform, and could pave the way for a more conservative government. The results are expected to be announced by the end of Sunday, with the possibility of a right-wing party rising to power in Europe, joining recent trends in other European countries.
