Yesterday, French voters delivered a serious blow to the President they elected eight weeks ago, tossing out over a hundred of his party’s representatives in the Assemblée Nationale and leaving him without the absolute majority he needs to govern for the next five years.
The left-leaning newspaper, Libération, called it a slap in the face.
The result wasn’t a big surprise. The left, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, did something unusual during this election. Instead of competing against each other, the France Insoumise party, the Communists, the Socialists and the Greens put aside their differences and ran a single slate of candidates. Their strategy paid off. The coalition, known as NUPES, for Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale, won 142 seats, up from 58 in the outgoing Assemblée.
The big surprise was Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National. Le Pen, herself, said she was hoping for 60 seats and her party won 89, compared to only 8 in the last election, five years ago.
In every election for the last 20 years, the public was instructed to vote strategically to keep the RN out of office. That strategy fell apart in this election. This time, at the end of Round 1, left-leaning and centrist voters who backed an eliminated candidate, weren’t given any clear instruction about the usual “republican blockade” against the RN. With the left and the center vying for power, they focused their attacks on each other and it was to the RN’s advantage.
The other big loser in the election is the center-right Les Républicains party. They managed to win 64 seats, down from 130 in the outgoing Assemblée.
The big question is how Macron will govern when his party is 45 seats short of the 289 needed for an absolute majority. On a case-by-case basis, when legislation comes up for a vote, he may find a few supporters among the independent-minded centrists outside his coalition. He may also find some votes among the Républicains, but their party president says that they intend to remain in the opposition and he’s ruling out any kind of deal or agreement to work together.
Already, the NUPES have announced that they’re going to bring a motion to censure the government. The idea is to force Macron’s Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, who was appointed a month ago, to resign, along with the rest of the cabinet of ministers. Since it would take an absolute majority of 289 votes to pass, it’s not clear how this can succeed. The motion to censure will be introduced on July 5.
Le Monde’s English-language edition has more details about the election. → www.lemonde.fr/…