PARIS (AP) – France clashed with ecstatic Marine Le Pen on Monday after far-right candidates from her party sent shockwaves through the political establishment and helped deny President Emmanuel’s centrist alliance Macron a majority in parliament.
Surprising progress for the far right, coupled with increased support for hard-left candidates, undermines Macron’s leadership, threatens its plans to raise the country’s retirement age and cut taxes, and reshapes the French political landscape.
Le Pen’s National Rally party did not win the two-round parliamentary election that ended on Sunday. But he got more than 10 times the seats he won five years ago.
It is a result that I have long dreamed of, the result of more than a decade of grassroots work to attract disillusioned working class voters and cleanse their party of its racist and anti-Semitic image so that it is seen as a party. like any other. One, he hopes, may one day rule France.
It was only in April that Le Pen lost the presidential election to Macron. But now it was his turn to rejoice, as he knows he can use the seats in the National Assembly to thwart Macron’s internal agenda and even provoke a vote of censure.
Radiant with pride, he described the result as a “historic victory” and a “seismic event” in French politics. Anti-racist groups quickly sounded the alarm about their anti-immigration and anti-Muslim agenda.
Le Pen’s national rally won 89 seats in the 577-member parliament, up from a previous eight. On the other side of the political spectrum, the Nupes left-wing coalition, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, won 131 seats to become the main opposition force.
The Macron Alliance Together! he won 245 seats, but was left with 44 seats to get a majority in the National Assembly, the most powerful chamber of parliament in France.
Strong support for political extremes reflects frustration with Macron’s leadership, which first erupted in 2018 with the yellow vest movement against perceived economic injustice, and which has regularly resurfaced among those who see it as too favorable to business. arrogant or deaf to everyday worries. .
The good performance of both Le Pen’s national rally and Mélenchon’s coalition, formed by his hard-left left party France Unbowed, as well as the Socialists, Greens and Communists, will make it difficult for Macron to implement the agenda in which was re-elected in May, inclusive. tax cuts and raising France’s retirement age from 62 to 65.
“Macron is now a minority president,” a radiant Le Pen told Hénin-Beaumont, its stronghold in northern France, on Monday. “His retirement reform plan is buried.”
He said the national rally will seek to chair the powerful parliamentary finance committee.
The National Myth, formerly known as the National Front, has been a political force in France for decades. But the two-round voting system had so far prevented high scores in the parliamentary elections.
Political analyst Brice Teinturier, deputy director general of the Ipsos polling station, told France Inter radio that Sunday’s result “means that the national rally is being ‘institutionalized'”.
Le Pen lost to Macron in April with 41.5% of the vote against 58.5%, his highest level of support in his three attempts to become France’s leader.
Since taking office in 2011, Le Pen has worked to remove the stigma of the National Front under the leadership of his father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been repeatedly condemned for racism and anti-Semitism. Softening some of his views and rhetoric, he tried to move the party from a protest movement to an opposition force perceived as capable of governing. He even changed the name of the party, which critics call an ingenuity to overlook its dark past.
Le Pen’s national rally now has enough lawmakers to form a formal group in the National Assembly and seek seats on parliamentary committees, including those focused on defense and foreign policy.
In addition, the National Concentration Party now has enough seats – more than 58 – to trigger a motion of censure against the government that could lead to a vote of censure.
The new Assembly will begin operating next week.
Meanwhile, France is heading for a reshuffle of the government. Three ministers, out of the 15 running, have lost the election and will have to resign in accordance with the rules set by Macron.
The president could also take advantage of the reshuffle to offer some government jobs to potential new allies.
Macron himself has not yet commented on the election results.
His government will still have the ability to govern, but only by negotiating with lawmakers. Centrists could try to negotiate on a case-by-case basis with center-left and Conservative lawmakers, with the aim of preventing opposition lawmakers from being large enough to reject the proposed measures.
The government could also occasionally use a special measure provided for in the French Constitution to pass a law without a vote.
Macron’s diplomatic policies are not expected to be affected in the immediate future, including France’s strong support for Ukraine. Under the French Constitution, Macron retains substantial powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense, regardless of the difficulties his alliance in parliament may face.
Teinturier, the political analyst, said the new composition of the National Assembly echoes “the desire of the French people to rebalance” the results of the presidential election.
“There was clearly a will not to give all the powers and a straight majority to Emmanuel Macron and to impose some limitations on him, some kind of placement under supervision,” he said.
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Surk informed from Nice. Alexander Turnbull and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.
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