PARIS: French voters turned out in large numbers on Sunday for the final round of parliamentary elections, that is expected to elevate the far-right as the dominant force in a deeply divided parliament.
By 5:00 pm (1500 GMT), the interior ministry reported a turnout of 61.4 percent, marking the highest voter participation at this stage of a legislative race since 1981, with several hours remaining before polls closed.
President Emmanuel Macron called for these snap elections three years earlier than scheduled after suffering a significant defeat in June’s European Parliament vote, a strategic move that appears to have backfired.
France remains tense as 30,000 police officers were deployed to prevent potential disturbances.
In Rosheim, near Strasbourg, 72-year-old Antoine Schrameck expressed deep concern, fearing France could face “a turning point in the history of the republic”. Similarly, Laurence Abbad, a 66-year-old retiree in Tourcoing near Lille, voiced fears of post-election violence amid heightened tension.
As voting continued, President Macron convened Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and leaders from his outgoing centrist coalition at the Elysee Palace.
The far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party emerged as the frontrunner in the first round on June 30 and is expected to maintain its lead in Sunday’s runoff races. However, projections suggest RN may fall short of an outright majority, which would necessitate Macron appointing Le Pen’s lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, as prime minister just weeks before Paris hosts the Olympics.
A potential hung parliament with a strong eurosceptic, anti-immigration bloc could undermine France’s international influence and pose challenges to Western unity amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. European Union officials, monitoring the situation closely, are wary following recent experiences with far-right governance in other member states.
Pope Francis in Rome cautioned against “ideological temptations and populism” on the day of the French vote, emphasizing the global health of democracy.
Last week witnessed over 200 tactical-voting agreements between center and left-wing candidates in certain constituencies aimed at thwarting RN’s absolute majority ambitions, reminiscent of the anti-far-right “Republican Front” strategy first employed in 2002.
Opinion polls indicate RN is projected to fall significantly short of the 289 seats required for a majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, yet remain poised to emerge as the largest single party.
Should RN’s gains materialize, Macron could potentially forge a broad coalition against the far-right, possibly retaining Attal as prime minister on a caretaker basis. Nonetheless, such an outcome could usher in a period of political gridlock in France, coinciding with the country’s preparations to host the Olympics starting July 26.
Reflecting on the stakes, Prime Minister Attal warned of the “catastrophic” consequences of an extreme-right majority, underscoring the critical nature of these elections.
Despite criticism and questions surrounding his decision to call early elections, Macron remains committed to restructuring French politics into clear ideological camps of far-right, center, and hard-left.
The final pre-election polls suggest RN could secure between 170 to 210 seats, followed by the broad left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition with 145 to 185 seats, and Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance with 118 to 150 seats. The NFP, however, encompasses a fragile coalition ranging from traditional Socialists to the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) led by Jean-Luc Melenchon.
After voting began on Saturday in France’s overseas territories, polls opened in mainland France at 0600 GMT and were due to close by 1800 GMT.
Projections — which usually give a very close idea of the final outcome — are published shortly afterwards, with the political leaders then reacting rapidly to any frenzy that grips the nation.
