Macron set to revel in landslide

TRIUMPH: WIN WILL ALLOW HIM TO IMPLEMENT REFORMS

Republic on the Move party expected to win 75%-80% of seats in lower house.

Paris

French voters were expected to hand President Emmanuel Macron a landslide majority in parliament yesterday, a second election triumph after his presidential victory and one which should allow him to embark on deep social and economic reforms.

Just a month after the 39-yearold ex-banker became the youngest head of state in modern French history, pollsters forecast his centrist Republic on the Move party will win 75%-80% of seats in the lower house of parliament.

Turnout, though, could touch record lows, in a sign of voter fatigue after seven months of rollercoaster campaigning and voting, but also of disillusionment and anger with politics.

The start-up On the Move is barely more than a year old and many of the MPs are likely to be political novices – something which will change the face of parliament at the expense of the conservative and socialist parties which have ruled France for decades.

One of the challenges for Macron as he sets out to overhaul labour rules, cut public sector jobs and invest billions of public cash in job training and renewable energy, will be to keep such a diverse and politically raw group united.

Key rivals say they expect On the Move to win a majority of seats and have been urging voters to make the margin as small as possible, saying that otherwise democratic debate could be stifled.

Opinion polls show that voters, while preparing to hand Macron a crushing majority, are actually hoping for a strong opposition to emerge in parliament.

“We need other parties to have some weight,” assembly line worker Veronique Franqueville, 54, who is not a fan of Macron. “If he wins it all there will be no debate.”

But among those who plan to vote for On the Move candidates the mood is different, with an overwhelming feeling that Macron needs to be given a strong enough majority to carry out the policies on which he was elected.

“I will vote for the ‘En Marche’ candidate,” said Aurelie, a 25-yearold nurse in Amiens, referring to Macron’s party. “If we want the president to be able to do things we need to give him a majority.”

The conservative The Republicans are expected to be the biggest opposition group in parliament, but polls see them securing only 90-95 seats out of 577. –

Picture: Reuters A NEW CYCLE. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, ride their bicycles in Le Touquet, France, this weekend.