Macron party may sweep House

MODERN PREZ WITH MIDAS TOUCH

French voters have put President Emmanuel Macron’s party on course for a crushing Parliamentary majority, though a record low turnout in the first round of voting raised concerns on Monday over the strength of his future mandate.

Projections showed Mr Macron widening his centrist revolution, with his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party and its ally MoDem tipped to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in next Sunday’s second round.

Such a share would give Mr Macron — who founded his party just a year ago — one of the biggest parliamentary majorities seen in the modern French state.

“France is back,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared triumphantly.

But former Prime Minister Alain Juppe of the rightwing Republicans said the low turnout was a sign of “deep malaise” in the electorate and that a clean sweep by Mr Macron would be bad for democracy. “The stakes of the second round are clear,” said the current mayor of Bordeaux, calling for Republicans voters to turn out in force on Sunday.

“Having a monochrome parliament is never good for democratic debate”.

But Mr Macron’s score of 24 per cent in the first round of the presidential race and Sunday’s low turnout undermine “the illusion of Mr Macronmania”, he said.

Some experts say the low turnout reflects fatalism among Mr Macron’s opponents in the face of his seemingly unstoppable advance. Mr Macron has gained praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the leftright divide.