Macron majority in doubt after gains for Left during first round
New coalition performs strongly after lowest turnout in history for parliamentary elections
‘We are the only political force in a position to obtain a majority in the National Assembly. We cannot risk instability’
EMMANUEL MACRON may fail to clinch an absolute majority in the French parliamentary elections, early results last night suggested.
A new Left-green coalition was on course to make major gains and secure as much – if not more – of the national vote as the centrist Macron camp.
The first casualty of round one was turnout, which was the lowest in history, hovering around 47 per cent.
There are two rounds for the 577 seats in the lower house National Assembly, with the profile of parliament only becoming clear after the second round on June 19.
Mr Macron was re-elected president on April 24. Early results suggested that while he will almost certainly boast the biggest group, he could fall short of the required 289 seats for an absolute majority.
According to Elabe for BFMTV, Ensemble was heading for between 260 and 300 while Ipsos-sopra Steria saw the Macron camp in an even more precarious position, with between 255 and 295 seats.
The result was a clear success for the New Popular, Environmental and Social Union (NUPES) coalition, led by Jeanluc Mélenchon.
NUPES is heading for between 150 to 220 seats, depending on the pollster, which would make it France’s main opposition force.
Mr Mélenchon said the result offered “radiant prospects” for his group.
After coming third in the presidential election, the Jeremy Corbyn-style extrotskyite has pulled off the surprising feat of wedding Communists, Socialists and Greens with his hard-left party, France Unbowed, for the elections. While Mr Macron appears to have avoided the nightmare scenario of a “cohabitation”, where the prime minister and president hail from different factions, he may be obliged to seek ad hoc alliances with French conservatives from the Republicans Party.
The Republicans were expected to win between 43-63 seats.
Some 14 of Mr Macron’s ministers are standing for MP and could lose their job if they fail to win a seat as the president has made it clear this is a prerequisite to remaining in government.
Among them is the new prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, who has never held elected office and is running in a Normandy constituency. She appeared to be in pole position after round one.
“We are the only political force in a position to obtain a majority in the National Assembly,” she said last night, warning the French: “We cannot run the risk of instability.”
“Faced with extremes we will give no ground… social progress is not degrowth,” she said.
While her seat is relatively safe, Clément Beaune, 40, Mr Macron’s Europe minister, who is campaigning in an eastern Paris constituency, could lose his duel with a NUPES rival, after coming second to Caroline Mecary in round one. The bane of British Brexiteers for his hardline stance over fishing rights, Mr Beaune is a close ally of the president and his defeat would be a major loss.
As for the nationalist camp, Ms Le Pen was heading to reclaim her seat in her northern constituency after gaining around 55 per cent of the vote. However, despite reaching the presidential runoff, owing to a lack of allies and voter reserves, her National Rally could be on course to win only 15 to 30 seats.
In a fresh slap for her nationalist rival Eric Zemmour, the anti-islam and immigration polemist was eliminated in round one in Saint Tropez in the southern Var département.