France faces chaos without me, Macron tells voters

‘Nothing would be worse than adding French disorder to the world’s disorder’, the 44-year-old centrist president told reporters this week

Results after the first round vote on June 12 showed Macron’s majority in parliament would likely shrink dramatically, and possibly even disappear

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France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, left. photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 2:04pm, 19 Jun 2022

France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his proxies took on an apocalyptic tone during the final week of campaigning before the legislative election run-off, saying the country faces chaos if it doesn’t hand him an absolute majority on Sunday.

The 44-year-old centrist even took time ahead of an official visit to eastern Europe to discuss the vote, telling reporters on Tuesday that “nothing would be worse than adding French disorder to the world’s disorder”. Three days later in Ukraine, he depicted his left-wing opponents as a dangerous force that will bring destabilisation, amid war and rising energy prices.

Macron came to power in 2017 promising a revolution in Europe’s second-largest economy, but his reform drive was slowed by protests and brought to a halt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A woman walks past legislative election posters in Gignac, France earlier this month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Re-elected in April, he now has another five years to leave his mark, but his ability to pass key reforms will depend on how many seats his alliance wins in the 577-strong National Assembly. For lawmaking to be smooth, he needs an absolute majority of at least 289 lawmakers.

Items on his agenda include plans to increase the retirement age and deliver tax reforms. Without the excitement he generated when he was first elected and facing an energised opposition, support from a majority of lawmakers is far from guaranteed.

Results after the first round vote on June 12 showed that while Macron’s alliance, called Ensemble, would still represent the largest bloc in parliament, his majority would likely shrink dramatically, and possibly even disappear. Polls released in the past week gave a range between 252 and 305 seats.

A result anywhere within that range would be a far weaker outcome than last time around, when after winning a first term Macron went on to secure a sweeping majority of 350 seats that allowed him to pass a labour reform. A total below 289 seats would force him to compromise and forge alliances to cement cooperation.