France’s left-wing coalition thwarts far right in parliamentary run-off vote

France’s
left-wing
New
Popular
Front
coalition
on
Sunday
unexpectedly
thwarted
a
far-right
advance,
clinching
the
largest
number
of
seats
but
falling
short
of
an
absolute
majority
in
a
parliamentary
run-off
vote,
early
data
showed.

The
New
Popular
Front
—
an
alliance
of
five
parties
ranging
from
the
far-left
France
Unbowed
to
the
Socialists
and
the
Ecologists
—
could
secure
182
seats
in
the
latest
electoral
round,
according
to
results

published
by
the
Interior
Ministry.

French
President
Emmanuel
Macron’s
Ensemble
party
and
its
allies
were
set
to
gain
between
168
seats,
while
far-right
Rassemblement
National
—
which
won
the
first
round
of
elections
and
was
widely
seen
as
likely
to
retain
a
strong
momentum
in
the
runoff
vote
—
seen
in
third
place
with
143
seats.

None
of
the
parties
have
accrued
the
necessary
absolute
majority
of
289
seats
to
rule
alone,
suggesting
markets
could
open
on
Monday
to
a
hung
parliament
in
Europe’s
third-largest
economy,
if
the
Sunday
results
are
confirmed.

Prime
Minister
Gabriel
Attal,
part
of
Macron’s
Ensemble
party,
on
Sunday
stated
his
intentions
to
step
down,
following
the
results.
“Faithful
to
the
Republican
tradition
and
in
accordance
with
my
principles,
tomorrow
morning
I
will
submit
my
resignation
to
the
president
of
the
Republic,”
Attal
said,
according
to
a
CNBC
translation.

“I
know
that,
in
light
of
the
results
of
this
evening,
many
French
people
feel
a
certain
uncertainty
about
the
future,
as
no
absolute
majority
has
emerged
[in
parliament].
Our
country
is
experiencing
an
unprecedented
political
situation,”
Attal
added.

Ludovic
Subran,
chief
economist
at
Allianz,
told
CNBC
on
Sunday
that
“France
rejected
the
extreme
right,
[and]
now
needs
to
peel
off
the
…
leftist
part
and
build
center
left
for
tomorrow
to
reassure
markets.”

An
initial
ballot
last
Sunday
suggested
RN
would
become
the
largest
party
in
France’s
National
Assembly
but,
in
the
last
week,
factions
on
the
center-right
and
left
joined
forces
to
try
to
block
its
advance,
withdrawing
candidates
in
many
constituencies
where
another
candidate
was
better
placed
to
beat
the
far-right
party.

By
offering
voters
a
starker
choice
and
fewer
candidates,
RN’s
opponents
hoped
that
the
electorate
would
choose
the
non-RN
candidate.
The
move
appears
to
have
worked,
with
anti-RN
voters
galvanized
into
action. Turnout
in
the
second
ballot
was
a
higher
67.1%,
the
highest
since
1997,
pollster
Ipsos
said.

“The
chief
of
state
must
bow
and
admit
this
defeat.
The
prime
minister
must
leave,”
Jean-Luc
Melenchon,
leader
of
the
France
Unbowed
party,
said
in
a
CNBC-translated

social
media
update
after
the
release
of
the
early
poll
data.
“Mr.
Macron
must
call
on
the
NFP
to
govern.
It
is
prepared
to
apply
its
agenda
all
of
its
agenda,
nothing
but
its
agenda.”

He
added
that
the
party
had
“tirelessly”
fought
Macron’s
policies
for
the
past
seven
years.

“We
refuse
any
combination
with
the
presidential
camp,”
Melenchon
said,

in
a
separate
CNBC-translated
post.

Melenchon
has
become
a
figurehead
of
the
NFP,
although
the
alliance
does
not
have
an
official
leader.
France
Unbowed
is
viewed
as
the
biggest
party
in
the
bloc
although
the
party’s
far-left
stance
has
dented
its
appeal
among
some
center-left
voters.

A
period
of
horse-trading
and
instability
is
now
likely
to
take
hold
in
France,
as
political
alliances
are
forged
with
the
aim
of
forming
a
government,
but
it’s
unclear
to
what
extent
President
Macron
will
be
willing
to
work
with
the
left-wing
alliance.

The
country
finds
itself
in
unchartered
waters:
President
Macron
shocked
Europe’s
political
establishment
by
calling
the
snap
after
his
Renaissance
party
was
trounced
by
National
Rally
in
the
EU
Parliament
elections
in
June.
Political
analysts
said
Macron’s
move
was
an
extreme
gamble,
with
the
president
betting
that
French
citizens
would
fear
and
ultimately
reject
the
prospect
of
a
far-right
government.
The
final
round
of
the
election
shows
that
voters,
ultimately,
have
rejected
Macron.

Macron
is
currently
reviewing
the
latest
election
results
and
will
await
a
full
picture
of
the
vote
to
emerge
in
parliament
before
deciding
on
next
steps,
the
French
presidency
said
on
Sunday,
according
to
Reuters.

Speaking
after
the
release
of
exit
poll
projections,
RN
leader
Jordan
Bardella

decried
that
the
“alliance
of
dishonor”
between
Macron
and
Melenchon
now
“throw
France
in
the
arms
of
the
extreme
left,”
according
to
a
CNBC
translation.

“Rassemblement
National
is
now
more
than
ever
the
only
alternative
facing
the
single
party
which
extends,
this
evening,
from
[far-left
politician]
Philippe
Poutou
to
[former
French
Prime
Minister]
Edouard
Philippe,”
Bardella
added.

Referencing
the
strategies
of
rival
parties
to
block
the
RN
advance,
the
far-right
party’s
figurehead
Marine
Le
Pen
said
in
the
wake
of
the
projections
that
“this
dam
against
nature
has
worked
to
the
great
despair
of
the
French
people,”
according
to
a
CNBC
translation.

—

CNBC’s
Helen
Eggleton
contributed
to
this
article.