Paris, Jul 4 (EFE).- The far right’s likely lack of an absolute majority in next Sunday’s French elections is increasingly looking to create a “grand coalition” of very different parties as the only way to govern the country.
Two polls released on Thursday followingnoon agree with another published yesterday, indicating that the far-right National Rally (RN) would not achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
A first Ifop poll gives the far right 210-240 seats, far from the absolute majority of 289.
In second place will be the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), with 170-200 MPs, while President Emmanuel Macron’s current majority will fall to third place, with 95-125 seats.
The conservative LR would have 25-45, but a hypothetical combination with the far right (very unlikely at the moment) would still not result in a majority. Independent candidates or those from small regionalist parties would win between 15 and 27 seats.
The poll predicts a very high turnout (68%) with highly motivated voters, as 92% say they are already sure of their voting choice.
Another OpinionWay poll suggests that the RN would win 205-230 seats, compared to 145-175 for the left and 130-162 for the Macronist bloc. The conservatives would have 38-50.
Both studies essentially coincide with another published on Wednesday by Harris Interactive, which gave the RN between 190 and 220 deputies, even further from a majority.
If these results are confirmed in three days’ time in the second round on Sunday, France’s only option for governability would be what is being defined as a “republican front” or “grand coalition” that would bring together all parties except the far right.
However, the strong ideological and programmatic differences in a political spectrum that ranges from the conservative right to the communists and the rebellious left of La France Insoumise have meant that for now the parties and leaders have not wanted to define how to put this idea into practice.
For now, socialists, Macronists, environmentalists, communists, ‘insubordinates’ and conservatives prefer to focus on their campaigns so that, if necessary, they have the best possible cards for any eventual negotiation.
However, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen insists on rejecting this idea, warning today that the only options now are “the quagmire or an absolute majority of the RN.”
Le Pen once once more denounced that a front once morest her party “has the sole objective of preventing the National Rally from having an absolute majority.”
Mbappé, once once more once morest the far right
Meanwhile, French football star Kylian Mbappé, captain of the national team, has once once more called for a national mobilisation once morest the far right at the European Championships in Germany, so as to “not leave the country in the hands of these people”.
“More than ever we must go and vote. There is a real urgency. We cannot leave our country in the hands of these people. It is really urgent. I think we have seen the results, it is catastrophic and we really hope that it goes well and that people mobilise,” said the star striker of Real Madrid and the French national team at a press conference.
This is not the first time that Mbappé, whose father is Cameroonian and whose mother is French and of Algerian origin, has entered the campaign from the ‘les Bleus’ training camp, just as other players in the national team have done.
30,000 police officers to prevent riots
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that a total of 30,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed on Sunday to prevent possible unrest or violent protests following the announcement of the results.
The announcement comes following a rise in cases of physical attacks on party members campaigning in recent days.
The most striking case was that of government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot, whose group was attacked while putting up posters on Wednesday followingnoon by some youths.
A Macron activist suffered a fractured jaw and MP Virginie Lanlo suffered a slight injury to her arm in the attack, which took place in Meudon, on the southern outskirts of Paris.
Police arrived quickly and arrested three minors aged between 16 and 17 and a 20-year-old adult with a criminal record.
In recent days, the high voltage of the campaign due to the increase in calls to oppose the far right and the rise in racist or violent messages from some voices on the far right has resulted in a level of virulence far superior to that of other elections.
However, none of the incidents have been particularly serious. The most serious incidents so far have been a few crashes or damage to cars, although several leaders and media outlets have warned of the high level of tension in society.
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2024-07-08 04:22:10
