France: Macron sees his vast majority threatened

The president Emanuel Macron far from securing an absolute majority in the National Assembly, although its coalition is expected to remain a leading force in the Franceafter the first round of parliamentary elections characterized by the strong rise of the united left and the far right.

One has to wait for the second round next Sunday to see if Emanuel Macron, who was re-elected on April 24 for a second five-year term, will be able to retain an absolute majority and, above all, his ability to implement freely its reform policy.

In addition to warning President Macron, the main lessons learned from the election are the spectacular rise of a left-wing coalition around Jean-Luc Melanson, the strong rise of Marin Le Pen’s far-right party and the collapse of the traditional right, as well as the abstention record.

The “Together” coalition of the French president and his central allies reportedly won 275 to 310 seats, according to an Ifop-Fiducial projection, and 255 to 295 seats, according to Ipsos. The absolute majority in the National Assembly is 289 seats (out of a total of 577).

In the polls, Jean-Luc Melanson’s radical left-wing “Nupes” coalition garnered between 25 and 26.2% of the vote, compared to 25 to 25.8% for the “Together” coalition, with both factions fighting a fierce battle. with chest.

However, more than one in two voters (between 52% and 53% of the population) did not go to the polls on Sunday, a new record that underscores the French indifference to a vote that was overshadowed by the presidential election.

“The truth is that the presidential party has lost,” Jean-Luc Melanson said Sunday night, calling on his forces to “break out” in the second round of parliamentary elections.

However, Melanson may be affected by the lack of a pool of votes in the second round and the strong abstention recorded especially among young people and the working class, according to experts.