By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PARIS (Worthy News) – In an unexpected, stunning outcome, the French left managed to beat a surging far right in the second and final round of legislative elections, winning the most parliamentary seats but not a majority, polling projections showed early Monday.
The outcome of Sunday’s vote put French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second place and no longer in control of parliament, while the bruised far right ended in third place.
With no bloc securing a clear majority, France faced uncertainty due to further upset markets and its economy, the European Union’s second-largest. It cast a shadow of political instability over the Paris Olympics opening in less than three weeks.
Yet for now, fireworks illuminated the skies and dark clouds above the Place de la République in Paris after projections showed a victory for the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance.
There were also those celebrating that Macron’s party was doing better than expected, preventing the far-right party from forming a government.
People were climbing the statue of France’s beloved Marianne, the Republic’s personification of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
There was a police presence, but the mood did not turn violent in that area of the French capital.
POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
Analysts said that despite their political differences, voters stood together against the far right. While uncertainty and complex negotiations were likely, to many celebrating the election outcome, this was apparently a victory.
It was a setback for France’s fiercely anti-migration National Rally (RN), seen as far-right by critics, which at one point was expected to deliver the next prime minister.
However, in Ukraine, there was an expected sigh of relief as RN’s figurehead Marine Le Pen vowed a prime minister from her party would prevent Kyiv from using French-supplied long-range weapons to strike inside Russia.
Kyiv argued it needed those weapons to halt Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Le Pen also pledged not to adhere to Macron’s suggestion to send French soldiers to Ukraine.
“If Emmanuel Macron wants to send troops to Ukraine and the prime minister is against it, then there are no troops sent to Ukraine,” she said ahead of Sunday’s vote. “The prime minister has the final say.”
Macron called the early elections after Le Pen’s RN party received the most votes during the European election results in May.
But as early results came in, RN leader Jordan Bardella said France had been “deprived” of his party’s victory and warned the nation pushed towards “uncertainty and instability.”
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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