PNN – The first round of elections for the French Legislative Assembly or the French National Assembly was held. Right-wing and left-wing parties were competing with other parties of this country, including the “All Together” coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron, to win a quota of 577 seats in this parliament.
The results of the first round of this election caused a great fear in the French society and in this round, the following results were obtained:
_ The National Front of France, which is considered one of the extreme right of France, under the leadership of Mrs. “Marine Le Pen” managed to get 34% of the votes.
_ The New People’s Front led by “Jean-Luc Melanchon”, which is considered the left wing of France, won 28.10% of the votes.
_ French President Emmanuel Macron’s “All Together” front or coalition won 20.30 percent of the votes.
_ French Republicans also won 10.20 percent of the votes in this election.
_ The rest of the votes were divided between smaller parties and independents.
Numerous estimates and polls were also conducted in France, which confirmed that the French right-wing parties are on the verge of gaining an absolute majority in the parliament (289 seats). This had created a wave of concern and fear among the people about the control of the extreme right-wing over the pillars of the French Fifth Republic.
In order to prevent the far-right National Front from winning, more than 200 candidates from the left wing and the moderates withdrew from the constituencies that were supposed to witness three-way competition in the second round, in order to reduce the chances of the competitors of the national gathering. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who led the campaign of the presidential camp in the National Assembly elections, warned, “The danger today is a majority under the control of the extreme right. This project will be disastrous.”
Breaking the record of people’s participation in the elections of the French National Assembly
The one-week gap between the two stages of the election was enough for the French media and other French parties to unite to prevent the French right-wing from gaining power and to produce a result in the second round that was unprecedented in the last four decades of France.
In the second round of the elections, there was no way but to increase the participation in the elections to prevent the victory of the right-wing parties. The same atmosphere of fear of the right-wing rule over all French affairs caused the participation rate in the elections to increase incredibly and a total of 67.80% of eligible people participated in the elections and blocked the way for the right-wingers of the National Front of France.
The participation rate in this round of elections was an exemplary figure and has not been seen in France in the last four decades. The highest rate of participation in the elections of the French National Assembly dates back to 1981, when 61.4 percent of eligible people participated in the elections; But in the second round of the French Parliament elections last Sunday, 28 million 780 thousand 328 people participated in the elections and in this sense, they left a record in the French National Assembly elections.
In this election, the extreme right, led by Le Pen and chaired by Jordan Badilla, who was leading in the first round, settled for the third place; While some polls in France predicted that Le Pen’s right-wing party would win the majority of votes in the second round; Estimates that cast a heavy shadow of the rule of the extreme right-wing faction on France, but with the unpredictable participation of the people in the elections and the people’s failure to vote for this extreme faction in France, once again the case of the absolute rule of this right-wing party over the French legislature was rejected.
According to the results of the second round of elections, practically no party or coalition achieved an absolute majority (289 seats) in the French National Assembly. Nevertheless, the French left coalition in the French Legislative Assembly announced its readiness to form a government.
In this way, according to the latest counting results published by official sources, the coalition of the left (New Popular Front) has 182 seats out of 577 seats in the French Parliament. The pro-Macron coalition won 168 seats and the National Front party led by Le Pen won 143 seats. The rest of the seats are in the hands of smaller parties.
In a result that is against all predictions of the first round, the National Rally Party (Le Pen’s party) enters the new National Assembly with strength, but with a disappointing result compared to the first round, it remains far from the country’s executive power.
Should French leftists form the government?
Immediately after the publication of the initial estimates, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the French radical left, emphasized that Prime Minister Gabriel Atal should “step aside” and added: The “New Popular Front”, to which his party also belongs, should take over the administration of the French government.
What did the big loser of the election say?
On the other hand, “Jordan Bardilla”, the head of the extreme right-wing National Front, described the coalitions formed in the second round, which were formed to defeat the National Front, as a “coalition of disgrace” and said: The National Front party is more than ever the only alternative in France” and vowed that his party would not make “small political compromises” and emphasized that “nothing can stop a nation that has regained its hope.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, also responded to the election results and said: “Our victory has only been delayed.” The tide is rising in France. It didn’t go high enough this time, but it’s still going up. He added: I have enough experience not to be disappointed with the result in which we have doubled the number of our representatives.
Macron also called for “caution” in analyzing the results of the Legislative Assembly elections to determine who can form the government. The French President added: The moderate bloc is still “alive” after seven years in power. According to reports last Sunday evening, the Elysee Palace announced that Macron is waiting for the new “composition” of the National Assembly to make the necessary decisions.
But French Prime Minister Atal submitted his resignation one day after the election and said he was ready to stay in his position “as long as the duty requires”; Especially since France will soon host the 2024 Olympic Games. But Macron did not accept Atal’s resignation and nominated him to be in charge of running the current French government, and after Macron’s stance, he announced his readiness to run French affairs to prevent a political and administrative crisis in France on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Macron asked Atal to remain in his position to “guarantee the stability of the country”.
Can the French leftists form a government and run the country?
The left coalition of the New People’s Front won the second round of the French Legislative Assembly last Sunday by winning 182 seats in the National Assembly, but did not win an absolute majority. However, the left coalition has announced its readiness to govern.
In this context, questions are raised:
_ Will the left coalition be able to govern the country even without having an absolute majority? Will it form an alliance with the party affiliated to the president and will it create an absolute majority from the representatives of different currents to form the government?
The French left coalition announced its readiness to govern after winning the legislative assembly elections. This victory was achieved without an absolute majority, and now difficult internal discussions have begun to determine the prime minister and the composition of the government. “Olivier Four”, the head of the French Socialist Party, who is in the new left-wing People’s Front, said in a radio interview: We should be able to nominate a candidate for the post of prime minister this week.
“Marin Tondollier”, the leader of the environmental defenders, who is a member of this leftist front, stated in a radio interview that Macron should invite the French left wing to run for the new government.
The political leaders of the left alliance emphasized that the plan of the future government should be based on the project of the new Popular Front. The plan includes repealing the pension system reforms (fixing the retirement age at 64) and the immigration law and reforming unemployment allocations, as well as measures related to purchasing power, such as setting a “minimum net wage of around €1,600” for workers and employees.
Socialists emphasize these sensitive points in France. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leftist leader of the New Popular Front, promised that the increase in the minimum wage would be done “by decree” and stressed that he would “not accept any excuses or tricks or compromises on this.” He has also strongly refused to “enter into negotiations” with the party affiliated to the presidency.
In response to the rumors about the possibility of forming a coalition between the presidential camp and the more moderate part of the Left Front, an official in the leftist current of the New People’s Front said with displeasure: The Macronians are trying to take our victory and form a coalition. The president should contact us to form a government.
Melansion and recognition of the Palestinian state
Immediately after the initial results were announced, Melanchthon (leader of the French radical left) said the prime minister should step down and the new Popular Front should “govern”. Considering that the extreme right was ranked third, he added: “Our people clearly overthrew the worst solutions.” He pledged that he would recognize the Palestinian government if he or one of the left figures became prime minister.
Shocking French presidential election in 2002
What happened in the second round of the French National Assembly elections was also witnessed in the 2002 French presidential elections. “Jean-Marie Le Pen” ran for the presidency of France this year and won 16.86% of the votes, the rival of “Jacques Chirac” in the second round of the French presidential elections. His strong performance caused a shock in France, and the French people entered the elections so that Jean-Marie Le Pen did not win, and Jacques Chirac succeeded in winning the presidency of France with 80% of the people’s votes. Disgust with the possibility of a far-right party in France getting the presidency, caused people and far-right opposition parties to unite in France to prevent Jean-Marie Le Pen from winning in the second round.
Now, in the shadow of the French National Assembly elections, this country is on the verge of internal and external political changes, and without a doubt, after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, we will witness such changes in France.