According to projections, France’s re-elected President Emmanuel Macron clearly missed the absolute majority in the National Assembly with his center camp.
In the final round of the parliamentary elections on Sunday, the Liberals came to 210 to 250 of the 577 seats. The new left alliance, led by left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon, will have between 150 and 180 seats in parliament. At least 289 seats are required for an absolute majority.
The result is a major blow to Macron, whose camp currently holds an absolute majority in the lower house of parliament. Normally, the parliamentary elections held shortly after the presidential election are seen as a confirmation, so that the same political force often wins with an absolute majority. The new left-wing alliance and Mélenchon, on the other hand, achieved enormous success, giving them more influence as the most powerful opposition group.
For Macron, the question in the parliamentary election was whether he would be able to implement his plans in his second term. For this he needed a majority in Parliament. Now with a relative majority, the president and government are forced to seek support from other camps. Depending on the project, they will seek to rely on centre-left or centre-right forces.
