PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron’s coalition is running side by side with a new left-wing group in the first round of the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to initial projections.
According to the Ipsos polling agency, the left-wing NUPES alliance backed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Macron’s Ensemble! Each coalition won 25.2% of the vote to elect representatives to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
But pre-vote polls suggested that a good sample of the left in the first round would not necessarily translate into seats, as Macron and his allies appear to benefit from next Sunday’s second vote under the system. two laps, which generally favors. more centrist candidates.
A candidate can win in the first round if he receives at least half of the votes cast, as well as the votes of at least a quarter of the voters registered in his constituency. Otherwise, the candidate who gets the most votes in the second round becomes a deputy.
According to Ipsos, Macron’s coalition would get between 255 and 295 seats after the second round, compared to only 150 to 190 NUPES. This would still mark a major rebalancing of power in the National Assembly, as Macron’s allies currently have 345 seats in the outgoing chamber. Most would be 289 seats; any lower number than the ruling coalition would mean that Macron would fight to push through important legislation and reforms, such as the pension system.
Although far-right leader Marine Le Pen won 39% of the vote in the second round of the April presidential election, her party won only 18.9% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, according to the projections.
Voter turnout also appears to have reached an all-time low for parliamentary elections with only 39 per cent turnout at 5pm local time, according to Home Office figures. Low turnout means fewer candidates will qualify for the second round, as candidates must receive votes from at least 12.5 percent of registered voters to continue.
The final results of the first round are expected later Sunday.