Macron’s party wins decisive victory

PARIS— President Emmanuel Macron of France won a crucial stamp of approval on Sunday as voters gave him and his allies a decisive majority in parliamentary elections, but a record-low turnout cast a shadow on his victory, pointing to the hurdles he will face as he seeks to revive the country’s economy and confidence.

As the polls closed at 8 p.m. Paris time, pollsters projected Macron’s party, La République En Marche (The Republic on the Move), and its allies had won at least 355 seats in the 577-member National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.

Macron, a relative political newcomer elected on May 7, had called for a strong mandate to advance his legislative agenda, including plans to loosen France’s restrictive labour laws.

Voters swept in many first-time candidates put forward by Macron’s party, including a record number of women.

For the two mainstream parties, the outcome was a bleak repudiation: The centre-right Republicans were relegated to a distant second place, with an estimated 125 members for its bloc in Parliament, while the Socialists, who had a majority in the last election, saw their bloc reduced to an estimated 49 seats.

Macron now “has all the power,” said Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, who resigned on Sunday as head of the Socialist Party.

A top Republican official, François Baroin, wished Macron “good luck” but said his party would continue to be heard, as the largest opposition party.