European politics was shaken by a surge in support for the far-right and far-left in the first round of France’s legislative elections on June 30. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party won 33% of the popular vote, ahead of the far-left New Popular Front (NFP) alliance on 28%.
The current president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition came third with a disappointing 22% of the vote. The result prompted Le Pen to say that the “Macronist bloc” had been “all but wiped out”.
France’s two-round system means that a run-off vote (an extra vote held to decide the outcome of an election with no clear winner) is required to see exactly how this will translate into representation in the national assembly. But it’s clear that the far-right is going to be a significant parliamentary force in France in the near future.
