Early forecasts from various polling companies predicted that Macron’s Le Republique en Marche would win only about 230 seats, surpassing all other parties and coalitions, but far from the 289 required for an absolute majority and far fewer than the 350 seats won its centrist political name. and joined her camp in 2017. The New Ecological and Social Popular Union, a hastily united coalition of left-wing, far-left and green political parties brought together by Jean-Luc Melanson, came in second with 149 seats. The fiery Mr. Melanson was triumphant, erupting against Mr. Macron. “It is a completely unexpected situation, completely unheard of, the destruction of the presidential party is complete,” he said after the results began. “They wanted to avoid defeat at the cost of dishonesty. “Tonight they have both defeat and dishonesty.” But it was Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party that rose the most in the election, winning about 85 seats or 15 percent of the 577-seat national assembly, a dramatic change of fortune since 2017, when it won just eight seats. . The show was the best for the French far-right movement, founded by Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, since it was founded four decades ago. “The National Rally number is something no one saw coming,” Lea Chamboncel, a French political journalist and podcaster, said in an interview. “It’s a bad surprise, a very bad surprise.” Macron addresses voters before heading to Ukraine on Tuesday (AP) The traditional center-right came in fourth with a projected 76 seats, up from 130 in 2017. The final figures were still being recorded by the interior minister. Sunday’s parliamentary elections may have little or no direct impact beyond France. Macron defeated Le Pen to win a second five-year term in April. Foreign policy, national security and European affairs issues remain deeply entrenched within the presidency, with parliament playing a much smaller role than in other western democracies. But in order to attract independent lawmakers to other camps and concentrate the majority on domestic issues, Mr Macron may need to step down on issues that have an impact abroad, such as military support for Ukraine, trade negotiations with the United Kingdom. or enlargement of the European Union. Although French voters on the left and right have united to vote for Mr Macron to defeat Le Pen in April, Sunday’s election sent some worrying messages to the president and his centrist allies. “It is far from what we expected,” Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Atal said in an interview with BFMTV. Among those who lost their seats was Amelie de Montchalin, Macron’s minister of ecological transition, who was defeated by left-wing Jerome Guedj in Essonne, a constituency 48 kilometers (30 miles) south of Paris. Christophe Castaner, a former Macron interior minister, was also beaten by a left-wing candidate. “Voters are unhappy with Macron, that’s for sure,” said Chamboncel, author of a book calling for more women in politics. “It was a by-election for him and he lost.” Journalists and supporters watch Marine Le Pen speak on television after the results of the second round of the French parliamentary elections (EPA) Mr Melenchon has managed to revitalize the fortunes of the long-running French Left to attract a new generation of young voters and candidates to the arena – many of them women and marginalized immigrants. But despite the joy of Mr Macron’s performance, the left also had some disappointing moments. Fabian Roussel, a prominent leftist, narrowly won a landslide victory over a far-right candidate in a northern constituency along the Belgian border. Ms Lepen re-invented her father’s political movement to make it more enjoyable for center-right voters. However, it remains strongly anti-immigrant and anti-European. It is also financially subject to Kremlin-linked banks. The size of Ms Lepen’s parliamentary bloc outweighs a number of legislative obstacles that will allow her to introduce, for example, censuses and bring issues before the constitutional court. Ms. Lepen, who shone with joy among a crowd of supporters after winning her place in the second round, promised changes. “The new faces you are about to discover are at the forefront of this political elite who will take responsibility for the country when Macron’s adventure ends,” he said in applause. “We will continue to work to bring the French people closer to a great popular movement.”
