The extreme-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen made big gains in the first round of parliament elections on Sunday, with around 34% of votes, nearly double their 18% in the first round in the 2022 election, propelling the party to a strong lead.
French President Emmanuel Macron called to block the extreme right in the second round of voting on July 7. Marcon had called a snap election three weeks ago following EU elections which saw its Renew political grpup loosing to the National Rally.
Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an “absolute majority” at parliament.
‘’Predictions for the second round are difficult because of the complicated voting system, and because parties will work between the rounds to make alliances in some constituencies or pull out of others,’’ wrote France 24 channel.
Projections by polling agencies suggest the antii-immigrantNational Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the National Assembly. The party needq 289 seats out of 577 to obtain a majority and form the next government under the National Rally President’s Jordan Bardella.
A new coalition on the left, called the New Popular Front, which includes the Socialists and Communists, Greens and the extreme-left France Unbowed party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which showed both anti-Israel and antisemitic attitudes, was on the second place with 28%
President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble (Together) centrist grouping is in third with about 20%.
The second round will be decisive but leaves open huge questions on how Macron will share power with a Prime Minister who is hostile to most of his policies.
France is home of the largest Jewish community in Europe which is caught between two extremes. Nazi hunter and lawyer Serge Klarsfeld said earlier this month that in a run-off between the National Rally and the New Popular Front, he would vote for the National Rally.
The extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen has worked hard to detoxify the party’s brand since she took over the reins from her party Jean-Marie Le Pen who was convicted several times for antisemitism, notably when he declared that the Holocaust was ‘’a detail’’ of WWII.