President Emmanuel Macron’s absolute majority at risk as France elects new parliament
- France’s parliamentary election is traditionally seen as a confirmation of the presidential result and is deliberately held soon afterwards
- Polls see new left-wing alliance making gains. If it receives a majority, Macron would be forced to appoint a prime minister and a government from this camp
Around 48.7 million registered voters can cast their ballots for the 577 seats in the National Assembly.
But the biggest threat for Macron in the first round of the parliamentary elections does not come from the right. It comes from left-wing veteran Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has succeeded in uniting the fragmented left camp behind him to knock Macron down a peg or two.
As a shrewd speaker and strategist, he has distinguished himself in a campaign from which Macron had remained distant until the final days. Now Macron’s absolute parliamentary majority is under threat.
In third place, Mélenchon was eliminated in the first round of the presidential election in April despite a strong showing of 22 per cent – but he did not admit defeat.
“Elect me prime minister,” the 70-year-old promptly announced, and declared the parliamentary election to be the third round of voting to decide the balance of power in France.
France’s parliamentary election is traditionally seen as a confirmation of the presidential result and is deliberately held soon afterwards.