France goes to the polls today for the first round of early general elections. The second round of general elections, announced by President Emmanuel Macron after his failure in the European Parliament elections, will be held a week later, on Sunday, July 7. This election, in which the far right is on the rise, could go down in history.
Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s National Rally (RN) party is leading the polls by a wide margin, carrying its European election success into the general election. Polls in major cities are expected to close at 20:00, with 49 million voters expected to participate.
This election will involve a two-round process, with the majority of the 577 seats in the National Assembly to be determined by the second round of voting. The election campaign has lasted just 20 days and the RN has gained support, promising tax cuts as a solution to immigration, crime, insecurity and the cost of living crisis.
Jordan Bardella aims to become prime minister of the RN and thinks his party will win many constituencies in the first round. However, Bardella states that he will undertake this task only if his party obtains an absolute majority in the parliament.
According to the polls, it seems that the left alliance called the New Popular Front will compete against the National Union in the second round. However, due to high participation expectations, it is predicted that the three parties will make it to the second round in approximately 250 electoral districts.
In France, parties at both ends of the political spectrum have chosen to unite to prevent the far-right from coming to power. It remains to be seen whether one of the candidates will withdraw from the race in order to consolidate the anti-RN votes.
Former President Hollande, Macron’s mentor, aims to re-enter parliament as a New Popular Front candidate. Even Macron’s allies are upset with the decision to hold early elections, which had been predicted not to be held for another three years.
France is also preparing for the Paris Olympics, which will start on July 26. The Minister of Internal Affairs warned about possible violence after the second round.
President Macron is set to meet with the prime minister and members of the government on Monday to decide on his next steps. Macron argues that only his Ensemble alliance has the power to curb the “far right and far left”.
