President Emmanuel Macron’s political bloc is losing its absolute majority in parliament, according to the first exit polls of the French parliamentary elections. Macron’s party coalition would fall from 350 seats to between 210 and 250 seats.
For an absolute majority in the Assemblée Nationale, the French House of Representatives, 289 of the 577 seats are needed. French law forbids French media from publishing polls on election day before the polls close.
Macron’s bloc took on the left-wing opposition NUPES led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, Rassemblement National led by Marine Le Pen and the traditional right-wing party Les Republicains.
According to the exit polls, NUPES won between 170 and 190 seats, Rassemblement National 75 to 95 seats and Les Republicains 60 to 75 seats. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. on Sunday and closed at 8 p.m. Immediately afterwards, the first results were announced.
Without the absolute majority, Macron will have to form a new coalition and appoint new ministers. This can make it less easy for him to present bills.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called the result “a risk to the country”. She also pointed to the “stability” in France: “We want to continue to protect you and ensure your safety.”
It is tradition in France that ministers from districts that have not been won by their party should resign. The positions of, among others, the Minister of Europe, Clement Beaune, and the Minister of the Environment, Amelie de Montchalin, are therefore under threat.
French polling stations were open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
French polling stations were open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Photo: EPA
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Turnout as expected very low
As expected, the turnout was very low at about 42 percent. In a two-round system, many voters see their favorite disappear in the first round. They wonder whether it still makes sense to vote for someone tactically in the second round. Five years ago, more than 57 percent of voters no longer participated in the second round.
Macron’s loss was already apparent in the first round last week. His political bloc won by a very slim majority of 25.7 percent of the vote. NUPES received 25.66 percent, the right-wing populist Le Pen and her party ended up in third place with 18.68 percent of the vote.
The voter turnout in the first round was historically low: about 52.8 percent of the French decided not to vote.
In France, the parliament works with a district system. This means that each constituency, a total of 577, is represented in parliament by one seat.
Opposition happy with major loss of Macron
Leftist leader Mélenchon called the loss of Macron’s majority a “completely unexpected and unprecedented” situation, as Macron was elected president by a large majority only two months ago.
Mélenchon also called the loss of Ensemble a “break with thirty years of neoliberalism”. He also pointed to the low turnout, which he says means that “a large part of France does not know where to go”.
Le Pen was especially pleased with the outcome of her own party, the far-right Rassemblement National, which is coming into the National Assembly with “the largest group in the history of the party.” “We have achieved our goals: to make Emmanuel Macron a minority president and to bring about a political reshuffle, which is essential for democratic renewal.”
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