Leftist coalition leads in French elections, but without absolute majority

A left-wing coalition that was unexpectedly formed before the elections in France won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to exit polls on Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second place and the far-right in third.

For its part, Jordan Bardellathe president of the far-right National Rally party, claimed to have made historic achievements and blamed Macron for creating “uncertainty and instability”.

The lack of a majority for a single alliance plunged France in political and economic turmoil. Final results are not expected until Sunday evening or early Monday. It was a highly volatile early election called just four weeks ago in a big gamble for Macron.

According to projections, the president has lost control of Parliament. Marine Le Pen’s far-right party has dramatically increased its number of parliamentary seats, but has not met expectations.

Early elections in this economic and nuclear power will influence the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and the economic stability of Europe.

France now faces the prospect of weeks of political machinations to determine who will be prime minister and lead the National Assembly. And Macron faces the prospect of leading the country alongside a prime minister opposed to most of his domestic policies.

The leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon He called the projections a “huge relief to the majority of the people of our country” and demanded the prime minister’s resignation.

The projections, if confirmed by official tallies, would plunge a pillar of the EU and its second-largest economy into intense uncertainty, with no clarity over who might partner Macron as prime minister.

The jump of France into the political unknown couldn’t come at a worse time: with the Paris Olympics opening in less than three weeks, the country will have to deal with internal instability when the eyes of the world are on it.

The Parliamentary election turned out to be a fiasco for Macron, 46. He stunned France by dissolving the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, after the far right surged in the French vote for the European elections.

Macron He was betting that French voters would “think twice” about voting for the European far right, return to the centre and strengthen his presidency for the three years he had left in office.

But instead of supporting him, millions of voters on both France’s left and right saw an opportunity to vent their anger and possibly sideline Macron, saddling him with a parliament that could now be largely packed with lawmakers hostile to him and his government.

The stark polarization of French politics — especially in this torrid, fast-paced campaign — is sure to complicate any coalition-building efforts. Racism and anti-Semitism marred the election campaign, along with Russian disinformation campaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported being physically assaulted, a highly unusual occurrence in the country. France.

Any improvised majority risks being fragile and vulnerable to votes of no confidence that could lead to its downfall.

The prolonged instability could add to suggestions from his opponents that Macron should cut short his second and final term. The French constitution bars him from dissolving parliament again in the next 12 months, other than as a route to possibly giving France greater clarity.