France is gearing for a fiercely contested parliamentary election on June 12 and 19 as Emmanuel Macron’s defeated adversaries make long-shot bids to deprive him of a National Assembly majority. But the forthcoming polls will be crucial for another reason, as winning votes in them is a vital source of parties’ public funding.
After the drama of the presidential campaign comes the parliamentary election – or the “third round”, to use its telling nickname. Nationalist runner-up Marine Le Pen and extreme-left standard-bearer Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who came third, have launched unlikely attempts to scupper Macron’s second term by winning a parliamentary majority.
