Historic victory for the right to eat in France’s first round of voting By Reuters
Written by Tassilo Hummel
PARIS (Reuters) – Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party scored a historic victory in the first round of France’s parliamentary election, but the final outcome will depend on coalition-building days ahead of next week’s exit vote.
The RN and allies had 33% of the vote, followed by the rest party with 28% and supporters of President Emmanuel Macron with only 20%, showed the official results of the Ministry of the Interior on Monday.
That was a major setback for Macron, who called snap elections after his ticket was defeated by the RN in last month’s European Parliament elections.
But whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a government will depend on next week’s deciding round and how other parties can thwart Le Pen by rallying the best-placed rivals across France’s regions.
The leaders of the remaining New Popular Front and Macron’s centrist alliance made it clear on Sunday night that they will withdraw their candidates from the regions where another candidate could win the RN in the run-off next Sunday.
A long-time pariah to many in France, the RN is now closer to power than ever. Le Pen has sought to clean up the image of a party known for its racism and anti-Semitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at Macron, the high cost of living and growing concerns about immigration.
An RN-led government will raise big questions about where the European Union is headed, given its resistance to further EU integration. Economists have also questioned whether its spending plans are fully funded.
The euro touched a two-week high during Asian trade on Monday in helping the RN market underperform.
“I think it’s ‘good, no surprises’, so there’s been a sense of relief there,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.
On Monday, RN lawmakers urged politicians who are members of the center right in the Republicans (LR) party, which received less than 7% of the vote in the first round, to withdraw from districts where such a move would favor the RN.
“If they know they won’t win, I ask them to stand down and let the national team win,” RN lawyer Laure Lavalette told RTL radio.
Meanwhile, the Republican party, which split before the vote with a small number of its lawmakers joining the RN, has not said anything about its position.
All the winners of the first round have until Tuesday evening to confirm their place in the second round.
