PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance is expected to lose its majority despite winning the majority of seats in the last round of parliamentary elections on Sunday, while the far-right national rally he seemed to have made big profits.
Projections, which are based on partial results, show that Macron’s candidates would win between 200 and 250 seats, far fewer than the 289 needed to have a straight majority in the National Assembly, France’s most powerful chamber of parliament.
The situation, unusual in France, is expected to hamper Macron’s political maneuver if the projections are confirmed.
A new coalition – made up of the hard left, the Socialists and the Greens – is expected to become the main opposition force with about 150 to 200 seats.
The National Rally is expected to see a huge increase with potentially more than 80 seats, more than the previous eight. Nationwide polls were conducted to select the 577 members of the National Assembly.
The good performance of both the national rally and the left-wing coalition, led by the left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, is expected to make it difficult for Macron to implement the agenda for which he was re-elected in May. , including the reduction of taxes and the increase of the retirement of France. age 62 to 65 years.
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who lost to Macron in the May presidential election, was re-elected to her stronghold of Henin-Beaumont in northern France.
“Macron’s adventure has come to an end,” Le Pen said. The group of legislators in the national rally “will be, by far, the largest in the history of our political family.”
National Rally President Jordan Bardella compared his party’s demonstration to a “tsunami”. “The message tonight is that the French people have made Emmanuel Macron a minority president,” he told TF1 television.
“It’s the electoral failure of macronism,” Mélenchon said.
The Macron 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.
Government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire told France 2 television that “we’ve had better evenings”.
“This is a disappointing top position, but it is still a top position,” he said.
“We are giving a helping hand to all those who are good for this country to move forward,” he said, referring mainly to the Republican Party, which is expected to have fewer seats than the far right.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who himself won a seat in his northern French district, stressed that Mélenchon “lost his bet” to win the election. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also won a seat in western France.
A similar situation occurred in 1988 under Socialist President François Mitterrand, who later had to seek the support of communists or centrists to pass laws.
These parliamentary elections have once again been defined by the apathy of the voters, with more than half of the electorate staying at home.
Audrey Paillet, 19, who voted in Boussy-Saint-Antoine, southeast of Paris, was saddened that so few people attended.
“Some people have struggled to vote. It’s a shame that most young people don’t do that, “he said.
Macron pleaded with a powerful choreography to voters earlier this week from the tarmac before a trip to Romania and Ukraine, warning that inconclusive elections, or a hanging parliament, would endanger the nation.
“In these difficult times, the election you will make this Sunday is more crucial than ever,” he said on Tuesday, with the presidential plane waiting in the background before a visit to French troops stationed near Ukraine. “Nothing would be worse than adding French disorder to world disorder,” he said.
Some voters agreed and argued against choosing candidates for political extremes that have been gaining popularity. Others argued that the French system, which gives broad power to the president, should give more voice to the multifaceted parliament and operate with more control over the presidential palace of the Elysee and its occupant.
“I am not afraid to have a more divided National Assembly between the different parties. I expect a more parliamentary and less presidential regime, as can be had in other countries, “said Simon Nouis, an engineer voting in the south of Paris.
“The disappointment was clear on the night of the first round for the leaders of the presidential party,” said Martin Quencez, a political analyst with The German Marshall Fund in the United States.
Macron’s failure to get the majority could have ramifications across Europe. Analysts predict that the French leader will have to spend the rest of his term focusing more on his domestic agenda than his foreign policy. It could mean the end of President Macron, the continental statesman.
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Jade Le Deley and Jeffrey Schaeffer contributed to this report.