The left-wing New Popular Front alliance is winning France’s parliamentary elections, according to polls published following the polls closed. In many cases, it was rival parties that urged voters to vote for left-wing candidates to prevent the far-right National Rally from winning.
The New Popular Front received between 172 and 192 seats, according to results published by Le Monde. The pro-presidential coalition Together for the Republic received between 150 and 170 seats. The left called for votes for some of its candidates in districts where they themselves had failed to show convincing results. The National Rally might receive between 132 and 152 seats.
According to the forecast of the BFM TV channel, the “New Popular Front” received up to 205 seats. The leader of the left-wing party “France Unbowed”, which is part of the alliance, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on the channel statedthat President Macron must give the left the opportunity to form a government.
Turnout in the second round was 67.1 percent, BFM TV predicts. This might be the highest result since 1997, when 71.1 percent of voters went to the polls following President Chirac dissolved parliament.
Following the victory of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the European Parliament elections on June 9, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and called early elections. The first round was held on June 30, and was won by the National Rally with 33.4 percent. The New Popular Front came in second, and the coalition of supporters of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron came in third.
After the first round, a coalition of left-wing parties and Macron supporters withdrew more than 200 candidates who came in third in their constituencies in order to consolidate voters around those who remained and prevent the National Rally from winning.
