Paris, July 8 – The far-right’s stab at power in France, buoyed by its strong showing in the first round of the parliamentary elections, seems to have fallen apart as the leftist coalition is projected to win the maximum seats, as per exit polls released after the close of polling in the second round on Sunday, though no bloc will get a majority.
All the major TV channels were predicting a victory for the left combination New Popular Front (NPF – as per its French name), while the far-right National Rally seems to have slumped to third place, behind President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble alliance.
As per the Ipsos-Talan poll for France Televisions and Radio France, the NPF is projected to gather 170-190 seats, Ensemble 150-170, and the National Rally 130-150. The Republicans could scoop up 50-70 and the remaining will go to the other left and other smaller parties. 289 is the majority mark in the 577-member National Assembly.
However, the picture will be clearer on Monday only when the results are formally announced after counting of votes.
There was jubilation in the camp of the NFP, a combination of Socialists, Ecologists, Communists and France Unbowed (LFI), formed as a united force against the far-right after President Macron called the snap parliamentary election last month.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the radical left France Unbowed, the largest in the left-wing coalition, claimed victory, terming the result “the outcome of a magnificent mobilisation effort”.
“The President has to bow and admit this is a defeat… the Prime Minister needs to leave. The President has the power and the duty to call the NFP to govern,” he added.
“The NFP is ready,” he adds.
On the other hand, the mood was subdued in the headquarters of the National Rally, where its PM hopeful Jordan Bardella could not mask his disappointment even as he sought to portray a positive position, citing the increase in the strength of the party.
Marine Le Pen, who co-leads the National Rally with Bardella, was more defiant, saying that her party’s “victory has only been delayed”, and she “sees the seeds of tomorrow’s victory in today’s result”, the BBC reported.
President Macron will be “analysing” the results before taking any next steps, the President’s office said in a statement, adding he will “respect the choice of the French people”.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that he would submit his resignation to the President on Monday.
“Tonight, although Ensemble has won three times the number of seats than had been predicted, we don’t have a majority. And so, tomorrow morning, I will hand in my resignation to the President of the Republic,” he told reporters at this official residence.