Insiders Advisor
  • Stocks
  • World News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Stocks
  • World News
  • Business
  • Politics

Insiders Advisor

Politics

French election preview: Polls show right-wing party leads runoff as opponents urge tactical voting

by July 8, 2024
July 8, 2024
French election preview: Polls show right-wing party leads runoff as opponents urge tactical voting

France is set to elect the right-wing National Rally (RN) as the largest party in government, yet no party may emerge with a clear majority in this tightly contested election as the second round of voting kicks off this weekend. 

The first round, which occurred June 30, resulted in just 76 of the 577 constituencies in the French National Assembly determining their representative. Any candidate who did not receive an outright majority in the first round of voting heads on to the second-round runoff, which is set for July 7.

Those few contests that concluded in the first round revealed a lot about voter sentiment and indicated trouble for the current government after RN took one-third of the vote, the most by any party.

The current government is an ‘ensemble,’ a coalition of parties, including French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (RE), Democratic Movement, Horizons, En Commun and the Progressive federation. Despite the assembly election results, Macron will retain his mandate as president until the 2027 election. 

Macron called the snap election after RN scored enormous success in the European Parliamentary elections in June. Polling before the first round of voting indicated RN would continue to dominate, but more recent polling ahead of the runoff indicates those returns have diminished and RN will fall short of a clear majority. 

Wednesday’s poll indicates RN will end up taking between 190 and 220 seats, but it would need 289 seats to control the assembly, according to Reuters. Additionally, its closest ally, the Republicans, are projected to win – at most – around 50 seats, ruling out some kind of right-wing coalition to take control of the assembly.

The next largest share would go to the New Popular Front alliance, which could net between 159 and 183 seats, leaving Macron’s ensemble third with around 110 to 135 seats. Macron has already ruled out making a new alliance with the left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), according to French daily Le Figaro.

Many candidates from Macron’s alliance who reached the runoff have already stood down in an effort to focus voters and support behind the strongest non-RN candidate in any given constituency. Former French Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe told French network TF1 TV he would vote for a Communist candidate to stop RN from winning the seat. 

Macron insisted, however, that ‘withdrawing today for left-wing elected officials in the face of National Rally does not mean governing tomorrow with LFI.’

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last month blasted LFI as equally extreme and just as dangerous to French society as RN, writing on social media platform X that ‘Insoumise France fuels the National Rally and the National Rally fuels Insoumise France.

‘They fuel hatred, fears and divisions between the French,’ Attal added. ‘On June 30 and July 7, against the extremes and for the Republic, vote!’ 

Opposition to RN stems from its roots as National Front, headed up by Marine Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was repeatedly convicted for racist and antisemitic remarks, including elements of Holocaust denial, such as when he referred to Nazi gas chambers as a ‘detail’ of history.

But Marine Le Pen has found support among some of France’s Jewish voters as antisemitism continues to grow in Europe.

Her anti-Islam views and comments, however, have raised concerns among other voters, as well. In 2017, she suggested France expel any foreigners convicted of a crime or suspected of being radicalized and said convicted extremists with dual nationality should be stripped of their French passports, Radio France Internationale reported. 

‘The measures that I want to put in place would mean that many of these people (Islamist attackers) would not have been on our territory or living freely,’ she said in an interview with BFM TV. 

In the event the votes should fall as the polls predict, the most likely outcome for France will be a hung parliament with some kind of begrudging alliance created to get a leader in place. The Conservative Party in Britain regained power from Labour in 2010 through a hung parliament alliance with the Liberal-Democrats, ultimately establishing an outright majority in the following election.

But, at that time, the Conservatives had 306 of 650 seats, making it far easier to broker such a deal. For France, RN would need support from two other parties or would need to form some kind of alliance with a direct rival. 

The government has urged voters to do what they can to continue diminishing RN’s chances of achieving control of the assembly, with Attal arguing voters had a ‘responsibility’ to block RN from victory. 

‘On Sunday evening, what’s at stake in the second round is to do everything so the extreme right does not have an absolute majority,’ Attal said during an appearance on France Inter radio as reported by Voice of America.

‘It is not nice for some French to have to block … by using a vote that they did not want to,’ he added, clarifying that he ‘did not speak about a coalition. I do not want to impose on the French a coalition they did not choose.’ 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
previous post
Employers added 206,000 jobs in June as sturdy labor market gradually cools
next post
French PM to resign as leftists nab majority of parliamentary seats in snap election

Related Posts

Biden-Harris admin warns Israel over Gaza humanitarian aid,...

October 15, 2024

Trump’s new SBA chief unleashes ‘Day One’ priorities...

February 24, 2025

Donald Trump Jr ally Sergio Gor offered top...

November 14, 2024

Hospitals nationwide challenge Trump’s executive order on transgender...

February 13, 2025

Weeks after Epstein file fallout, a new deadline...

March 9, 2025

Trump posts ‘how it’s going’ message contrasting Time...

December 14, 2024

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrested at airport...

March 11, 2025

White House blasts House GOP budget, says Biden...

March 26, 2024

Trump praises Elon Musk as ‘patriot, a brilliant...

April 24, 2025

Sen Mitch McConnell announces he will not run...

February 20, 2025

    Fill Out & Get More Relevant News


    Stay ahead of the market and unlock exclusive trading insights & timely news. We value your privacy - your information is secure, and you can unsubscribe anytime. Gain an edge with hand-picked trading opportunities, stay informed with market-moving updates, and learn from expert tips & strategies.

    Latest News

    • Biden admits keeping classified Afghanistan document ‘for posterity’s sake’ in leaked audio

      May 17, 2025
    • Biden’s autopen use questioned amid released audio from Special Counsel Hur interview

      May 17, 2025
    • Biden repeatedly says ‘I don’t remember’ regarding classified documents in newly released Hur interview audio

      May 17, 2025
    • Biden struggles with words, key memories in leaked audio from Special Counsel Hur interview

      May 17, 2025
    • Former FBI Director James Comey meets with Secret Service after controversial ’86 47′ post

      May 16, 2025
    • UN said to be stalling reforms in hopes Democrats flip House in midterm elections

      May 16, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (1,216)
    • Politics (5,578)
    • Stocks (904)
    • World News (455)
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: insidersadvisor.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 insidersadvisor.com | All Rights Reserved