The French elections will be decided on June 19: will Macron and his supporters retain the majority or will the left-wing alliance NUPES win the parliamentary elections?
- France elections: On Sunday (June 19), the French will decide who will represent them in Parliament.
- President under pressure: Second round of parliamentary elections in France will decide whether Emmanuel Macron can implement his reform plans.
- Opposition on the rise: The left-wing alliance NUPES and the right-wing national Rassemblement National win seats.
- The second round of parliamentary elections in France begin on Sunday.
Update from June 18, 8:10 a.m.: The second round of parliamentary elections has begun in France. Voters are called upon to determine the 572 seats in the National Assembly that were still unfilled in last Sunday’s first round. The polling stations are open until 6 p.m., in large cities also until 8 p.m. A historically low voter turnout is expected.
According to the latest polls, the party alliance behind President Emmanuel Macron must fear losing the absolute majority. That would mean a setback for Macron and make upcoming reforms more difficult. The President is expected to reshuffle the cabinet again soon after the election.
Most recently, it became apparent that the left-green electoral alliance Nupes, led by left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is the strongest opposition faction. It also includes the Socialists, the Greens and the Communists. The right-wing populist party RN could form its own parliamentary group for the first time with at least 15 MPs. Their predecessor party FN was last able to do this in 1986.
France elections: Macron wants to secure a majority in parliament – left-wing alliance hopes for more seats
Update from June 18, 9:32 a.m.: Shortly after President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second term, the French are electing a new parliament. The 577 seats in the National Assembly will be voted on on Sunday. For Macron, it’s about securing a parliamentary majority again. Otherwise he would be forced to appoint a government with politicians and a prime minister from other camps. In this case, the prime minister would have a much more important position in the state. In particular, the new left-wing alliance of the Left Party, Socialists, Greens and Communists is hoping for significantly more seats in Parliament.
France elections: decisive phase on Sunday – will Macron retain the majority?
First report from June 15th: Paris – Five seats have already been taken after the first round of the French elections, 572 remain: the parliamentary elections will enter the decisive phase on Sunday (June 19). Almost 49 million French decide whether President Macron’s supporters retain the majority in the National Assembly. However, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the left-wing alliance NUPES he forged are breathing down the neck of the presidential alliance in order to take over the majority.
| parliamentary election |
| Second round |
| 19. June 2022 |
| 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., in some cities also 8 p.m |
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France elections: Macron Alliance enters the second round of parliamentary elections with a narrow lead
In the first ballot of the parliamentary elections in France, the Left Alliance had just 21,285 fewer votes than the Macron Alliance Ensemble. The Lefts themselves are even convinced that they have become the strongest force because votes to NUPES were wrongly counted as “Various Leftists” by the Ministry of the Interior. Contrary to the official results, according to which NUPES was in second place with 25.66 percent, the alliance received 26.83 percent of the votes, putting it ahead of the Liberals (25.75 percent) in first place.
However, the French elections will be conducted using a first-past-the-post system. It is not the relative share of votes that determines how many seats the parties get, but the number of constituencies won. Macron’s La République en Marche party, which has since been renamed Renaissance, and its partners are leading here: According to the newspaper Le Monde, Ensemble is ahead in 203 constituencies in the first round of the French elections. With 194, NUPES is in second place. Marine Le Pen and her nationalist Rassemblement National are ahead in 110 constituencies.
Parliamentary election: Overview of the results of the first round of the French elections
| Ensemble! | 25,75% |
| NUPES | 25,66% |
| National Gathering | 18,68% |
| The Republicans | 10,42% |
| reconquest | 4,42% |
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Parliamentary elections in France: the right to vote helps Macron
However, since voting rights in the general election in France favor large parties that can form large alliances in the runoff, experts expect Emmanuel Macron’s supporters to retain a majority. According to forecasts, Ensemble will win between 255 and 295 seats in the National Assembly and retain the majority. However, this puts the absolute majority at risk. In order to be able to implement its reform ideas, the Macron alliance would have to find partners.
Before the decisive phase of the French elections, Macron therefore implored the French to give him a clear majority. “We need a solid majority to ensure order, both outside and inside our borders,” Macron said in Paris on Tuesday (June 14). “Nothing would be worse than adding a French disorder to the global disorder.”
France elections: Emmanuel Macron warns of left-wing alliance NUPES
In addition, Macron warned of a possible blockade threatened by a left-wing majority after the parliamentary elections in France. “In the face of the climatic, economic and social emergencies of the century and the crises that will inevitably arise, nothing would be worse than losing ourselves in deadlocks, deadlocks and poses,” said Macron. The Left Alliance threatens higher taxes, more debt and a shrinking economy, while aiming for full employment, higher incomes and an increase in economic strength.
It remains to be seen whether the warning will be heard by the majority of voters in France. According to a survey conducted before the French elections, a large majority of French support the goals of the left-wing alliance. (ms with dpa)
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