Far right wins first round in France election, final result uncertain, exit polls show

Far right wins first round in France election, final result uncertain, exit polls show

July, 1 2024

PARIS: (Reuters) Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party emerged ahead in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday (June 30), exit polls showed, but the unpredictable final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week’s run-off.

The RN was seen winning around 33% of the vote, exit polls from BFMTV showed.

That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including President Emmanuel Macron’s Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning 22%. The New Popular Front, a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 28.5% of the vote, the exit polls showed.

The results from the high-turnout vote, which were in line with polls ahead of the election, provided little clarity on whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a government to "cohabit" with the pro-EU Macron.

A week of political bargaining now lies ahead of the July 7 run-off. The final result will depend on how parties decide to join forces in each of France’s 577 constituencies for the second round.

In the past, France’s centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from taking power, but that dynamic, called the "republican front" in France, is less certain than ever.