French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance is projected to fall out of the majority in power, but voters shocked pollsters with a rebuke of Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally.
Although final results are not expected until Sunday evening, it appears as though there will be a bitter power struggle between France’s left and right wings and the president’s centrists. National Rally did greatly improve its standing in parliament, boosting the number of seats it holds, but it underperformed expectations it would roar to victory.
Leftist coalition leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said the results are an “immense relief for a majority of people in our country.”
Polling estimates by research firm IFOP project Melenchon’s left wing alliance will have between 180 and 215 seats. Macron’s coalition will have roughly 150-180 and National Rally will pick up between 120-150 seats in the 577-seat parliament, according to Politico.
The surprise result came after National Rally dominated the first round of voting a week ago. With no clear majority coalition, the National Assembly will likely require negotiations between the major coalition leaders for the coming weeks to form a government.
After a strong performance by National Rally in the European Parliament elections in June, Macron had hoped to stymie their momentum by calling a snap election for the country’s National Assembly. A strong showing by the right-wing party led several third-place left and centrist candidates to withdraw from the second round in a bid to hurt National Rally’s chances of winning an outright majority. Based on the projections Sunday, the plan appears to have worked.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella thanked voters for their trust despite the barrage of attacks in remarks on Sunday, but he also pinned blame on Macron and Melenchon for blocking them from becoming the largest coalition.
Je tiens à remercier les électeurs du RN et de ses alliés, leur constance, leur sérénité face aux caricatures.
Malheureusement, l’alliance du déshonneur entre M. Macron et M. Mélenchon jette ce soir la France dans les bras de l’extrême gauche. #Législatives2024 pic.twitter.com/9HozaCz47T
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) July 7, 2024
“Unfortunately, the alliance of dishonor between Macron and Melenchon has thrown France into the arms of the extreme left,” Bardella said.
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With the uncertainty, Macron said his office will “wait” before moving forward with forming a new government. French Prime Minster Gabriel Attal, from Macron’s coalition, announced he would submit his resignation following the Sunday results.
It comes as Paris is set to host the Summer Olympic Games in less than three weeks.
