In the first round of the French parliamentary elections, around two out of five registered voters had cast their votes by the afternoon. As announced by the Interior Ministry in Paris, the turnout on Sunday up to 5 p.m. was 39.42 percent. In the previous election to the National Assembly in 2017, it was slightly higher at the same time with 40.75 percent.
The 577 seats in the National Assembly will be allocated during the election – but most of them will probably not be allocated until the second round of voting next Sunday. The lower house of parliament is important for legislation. The upper house, the Senate, will be elected at a different time.
The camp of the re-elected liberal President Emmanuel Macron still has the majority in the National Assembly. In order to implement his plans without any problems in his second term, he must stick to them. He faces competition primarily from the new alliance of leftists, communists, greens and socialists led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Polls recently saw the left-wing alliance on the upswing. Mélenchon was a three-time candidate for the presidency, now he calls himself candidate for prime minister – a position that does not exist in the French political system.
Mélenchon had managed the coup of uniting the fragmented left camp behind him and attacking Macron. As a shrewd speaker and strategist, the left veteran distinguished himself in an election campaign that Macron stayed out of until shortly before the end. Now he has to fear for his absolute parliamentary majority.
Around 48.7 million registered voters can cast their vote in the election. The last polling stations close at 8 p.m. in the evening. Then extrapolations for the outcome of the election are also expected. In some French overseas territories, elections were held on Saturday due to the time difference.
Should President Macron fail to regain a parliamentary majority, 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.
Nevertheless, it seems certain that Germany and Europe can continue to count on France as a reliable partner. There will probably be no compromises on the pro-European course and the solidarity with Berlin. In the Ukraine conflict, France will also remain an integral part of the West’s united front against the aggressor Russia.
