In the recent French election, All leftist ideologies of France came together to contest France’s 2024 snap election against President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance and right-wing party. Now, the polling projections have turned into almost exact figures, the left-wing coalition has won most of the parliamentary seats in the vote. The results have placed President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second and the far right in third.
To win an outright majority, a party or coalition needs to secure at least 289 out of total 577 seats of National Assembly.
Three alliances emerged on top after the vote count, but no single political party or alliance of parties has won a clear majority.
- New Popular Front (NFP), a broad alliance of leftist, secured the largest number of seats – 188.
- Ensemble, the centrist coalition led by French President Emmanuel Macron, came second with 161 seats.
- National Rally (RN), the right-wingallies, led by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, won 142 seats.
The results confirmed by official counts plunge a pillar of the European Union and its second-largest economy into intense political turmoil, with no clarity about who might partner with President Emmanuel Macron as prime minister in governing France. The snap legislative election results of this nuclear-armed and major economy nation will influence the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. The timing of France’s leap into the political instability could hardly be worse: With the Paris Olympics opening in less than three weeks, the country is grappling with domestic uncertainty when the eyes of the world are upon it.
Since none of the three blocs has won an outright majority, France now has a hung parliament, and a coalition government will need to be formed between alliances or political parties. Unlike other countries in the region that are more accustomed to coalition governments, France doesn’t have a tradition of lawmakers from rival political camps coming together to form a working majority government.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s Renaissance party announced that he would step down. “Being prime minister was the honour of my life. This evening, the political group that I represent no longer has a majority, and tomorrow morning, I will submit my resignation to the president,” he said after the results became decleared. Attal will stay on in a caretaker role for a while because of the Paris Olympics, which held to be later this month.
The prime minister is appointed by the president. There is no particular timeline for Macron to appoint a new premier. Macron is not lawfully obliged to appoint a prime minister from the party with the largest number of seats in parliament. He may technically appoint anyone he likes from any of the parties, either right-wing or left-wing.
Will Macron remain in office till 2027?
Macron’s presidential term ends in 2027, and he does not intend to step down before that, he said in his earlier statement. The constitution of France grants Macron power over foreign policy and the armed forces. The unfortunate success of the leftist alliance in this election potentially means the weakening of Macron.
France now faces the prospect of weeks of political machinations to determine who will be the new prime minister of France and lead the National Assembly. And Macron faces the prospect of leading the country alongside a prime minister opposed to most of his domestic policies.