More than 210 left-wing (or Macronist) candidates who had qualified for France’s parliamentary elections’ runoff round have withdrawn to prevent the extreme right from gaining power, a move welcomed by the French president, reported several French media.
Macron’s gambit for “clarification” following his party’s defeat in the European parliamentary elections last month backfired as Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) won the first round of France’s snap parliamentary elections on June 30. The main question is whether the RN can secure enough seats during the upcoming second round on Sunday to form a government.
After Tuesday’s registration deadline, it became apparent that more than 210 pro-Macron or left-wing candidates have now dropped out of the race to prevent the RN from gaining seats.
Le Pen appeared to backtrack on past statements that the RN would only form a government with an absolute majority of 289 of the 577 members in the National Assembly, saying it would continue to attempt that even if the figure was somewhat lower.
She stated that her party will aim to form a government and choose Jordan Bardella, 28, as prime minister, suggesting a minimum of “for example, 270 deputies” and then 19 additional MPs.
“If we get a majority, we’ll go ahead and do what the voters elected us to do,” she told France Inter.
If the far right Bardella becomes prime minister, it would result in a stressful period of “cohabitation” with centrist Macron, who has pledged to serve out his mandate until 2027.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, 35, warned late Monday that giving the extreme right an outright majority would be “catastrophic” for France.
Only 76 members, nearly entirely from the far right and left, were elected outright in the first round of voting over the weekend.
The destiny of the remaining 501 seats will be decided in the second round, with runoffs between two or three surviving candidates expected.
More than 120 of the candidates who have opted to withdraw from the contest are members of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, which finished second in the first round, while more than 70 are from Macron’s party.
An RN candidate withdrew on Tuesday after a photo posted on social media showed her wearing a hat from Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe air force, according to a party official.
However, there has been disagreement within the presidential campaign over supporting NFP candidates affiliated with the France Unbowed (LFI) hard-left party.
Several Macron supporters, notably Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, have suggested that they should not support candidates from the LFI, which is accused by opponents of radicalism and failing to support Israel with regard to the October 7 attack.
As tensions increased five days before the poll, Le Pen accused Macron of hurrying to appoint individuals to crucial positions in the police and other institutions before the projected cohabitation, describing it as “a type of administrative coup d’état.”
Macron’s staff said Le Pen should exercise “restraint,” asserting the appointments are part of an already established schedule.
Analysts believe the most likely outcome is a hung parliament, which may result in months of political stagnation as France hosts the Olympics this month and next.
The upheaval also risks undermining Macron’s international credibility, since he is scheduled to attend a NATO meeting in Washington shortly following Sunday’s vote.