French far right projected to win first round in elections with 34.5% of votes
National Rally longtime leader Le Pen urges voters to hand party victory in second round of voting for National Assembly next week; President Macron calls for opposing alliance
PARIS — France’s far-right won the first round of pivotal legislative elections on Sunday with the centrist forces of President Emmanuel Macron coming in only third behind the left after the highest turnout in over four decades, estimates said.
But it remained unclear if the far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen would win an absolute majority of seats in the new National Assembly lower house in the July 7 second round and enable her protégé, Jordan Bardella, 28, to become the next prime minister.
Macron had stunned the nation and baffled even some allies by calling snap polls, after the RN trounced his centrist forces in European Parliament elections this month.
That gamble risks backfiring, with Macron’s alliance now expected to win a far smaller minority contingent in parliament, making the president a far less powerful figure for the remaining three years of his term.
Projections from prominent French polling firms gave the RN 34.5 percent of the vote, compared to 28.5-29.1% for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, and 20.5-21.5% for Macron’s centrist camp.
The polling agencies projected this would give the RN a majority of seats in the 577-seat National Assembly after the second round and a possible absolute majority.
In a statement, Macron called for a “broad” alliance against the far-right in the second round.
Julien Martin, a 38-year-old architect, who voted in the southwestern city of Bordeaux, said: “These are not easy elections, the results are very uncertain, and the repercussions could be serious for society.”
‘The future scares me’
With the French facing their most polarizing choices in recent history, turnout soared. The Elabe organization projected a final turnout of 67.5%, the highest participation in a regular-format legislative election in France since 1981.
The final turnout in 2022 was just 47.5%.
The July 7 second round will see run-off votes take place in seats where there was no absolute majority, allowing the final composition of the National Assembly to take shape.
With Russia’s war against Ukraine in its third year and energy and food prices much higher, support for the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic RN party has surged, despite Macron’s pledges to prevent its ascent.
The two-round vote could put the far-right in power in France for the first time since the Nazi occupation in World War II and give 28-year-old RN party chief Bardella, a protégé of its longtime leader Le Pen, the chance to form a government.
This would create a tense period of “cohabitation” with Macron, who has vowed to serve out his term until 2027. Bardella has said he will only form a government if the RN wins an absolute majority in the elections.
As the projections came in, Bardella said he was ready to be prime minister.
“I will be a ‘cohabitation’ prime minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of president of the republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” Bardella said.
Le Pen said voters needed to give her National Rally an absolute majority in the second round of parliamentary elections so Bardella could become premier.
“Nothing is won and the second round is decisive,” Le Pen told supporters. “We need an absolute majority so that Jordan Bardella is in eight days named prime minister by (President) Emmanuel Macron.”
There are 49.5 million registered voters who will choose the 577 members of the National Assembly, France’s influential lower house of parliament.
In the southern city of Marseille, Nabil Agueni said he had skipped the European elections, but voted on Sunday.
“As long as we have a choice, it’s better to go and vote,” the 40-year-old said.
Nicole Cherprenet, a 79-year-old voter in Paris, added: “The future scares me.”
The left-wing New Popular Front alliance urged supporters to gather in central Paris on Sunday night.
Some shopkeepers in major cities including Lyon and Rennes boarded up their storefronts in anticipation of possible riots, although there were no immediate reports of unrest.
Predictions of deadlock
Macron and his wife Brigitte cast their ballots in Le Touquet in northern France, with the 46-year-old president seen taking selfies and mingling with supporters.
A beaming Le Pen was seen hugging and kissing voters in Henin-Beaumont, the far-right stronghold in the north, where she is standing to be re-elected as an MP.
In the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, where tensions remain high following deadly riots there last month, turnout stood at 60%, compared to 32.5% recorded during legislative polls in 2022.
Mujtaba Rahman, Europe head at Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy, said turnout was key to the outcome of the election.
“The higher the turnout, the more candidates qualify,” he said on X.
He said that the left-wing alliance and Macron’s centrist camp would be able “to make deals to withdraw worst-placed candidates and allow the others a free run against the far-right candidate,” in the second round of voting.
The results of the first round will give a picture of voter sentiment, but not necessarily of the overall makeup of the next National Assembly. Predictions are difficult because of the complicated voting system, and because parties will work between the rounds to make alliances in some constituencies or pull out of others.
In the past, such maneuvers helped keep far-right candidates from power. But support for Le Pen’s party has spread deep and wide.
Bardella, who has no governing experience, says he would use the powers of prime minister to stop Macron from continuing to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine for the war with Russia.
The National Rally has also questioned the right to citizenship for people born in France, and wants to curtail the rights of French citizens with dual nationality. Critics say this undermines human rights and is a threat to France’s democratic ideals.
Meanwhile, huge public spending promises by the National Rally and especially the left-wing coalition have shaken markets and ignited worries about France’s heavy debt, already criticized by EU watchdogs.
Macron’s decision to call the snap vote plunged the country into political turmoil and sparked uncertainty in Europe’s second-biggest economy.
The Paris stock exchange suffered its biggest monthly decline in two years in June, dropping by 6.4%, according to figures released on Friday.
