France was rocked by political turmoil yesterday after Marine Le Pen’s far-right party won the first round of a snap election.
Violence erupted on the streets of Paris after the results were declared, with protesters smashing shop windows, setting fire to rubbish and setting off flares.
Riot police clashed with protesters at the Place de la Republique, the focus of angry demonstrations against the rise of Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party.
The party won 33 percent of all votes in the first round of national elections, leaving President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in third place behind a left-wing coalition.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned that RN was on the “gates of power” and urged parties to work together to stop the far-right from winning an outright majority. Polls suggest RN is the only party that could win outright in Sunday’s runoff election, although they predict it is likely to fall short of the 289 seats needed for an outright majority in the 577-seat National Assembly.
People gather to protest against French far-right party Rassemblement National following partial results in the first round of elections, in Paris, France, June 30.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron
RN’s opponents hope tactical voting in the second round could block their path to power.
France’s two-round electoral system means candidates in three-way races can withdraw in an attempt to unite voters around a single opponent. Attal urged candidates from his own party to withdraw if they were in third place behind RN and a left-wing candidate, saying voters had a “moral” duty to prevent RN from winning an outright majority.
According to a tally by the French daily Le Monde, 169 candidates withdrew yesterday. The deadline for withdrawal expires tonight.
RN’s result on Sunday was unprecedented for a far-right populist party in France. The left-wing alliance New Popular Front won 28 percent of the vote, while Macron’s Ensemble got just 22 percent.
French far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen and the party’s leading candidate for the upcoming European elections Jordan Bardella during a political rally on June 2, 2024 in Paris.
French protest against far-right National Rally party during elections
If RN wins an absolute majority, it could form France’s first far-right government since World War II and install Le Pen protégé Jordan Bardella as prime minister.
Intense negotiations have begun between the rivals over which candidates should drop out of the three-party races, known as “triangulaires”. Left-wing MEP Raphael Glucksmann said: “We have seven days to prevent France from suffering a catastrophe.”
Macron had already warned that an RN victory could put France on the path to civil war. He declared that early elections would be called after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in the European Parliament elections, where RN won 32 percent of the vote in France. His critics accused him of recklessly taking risks with France’s political future.
RN, which has a history of racism, has said it would curb immigration and increase police powers.
On Sunday evening, after the first round votes were declared, Macron called for a “broad” alliance against RN, but questioned whether it should include the left-wing party France Unrenowned (LFI), led by Jean-Luc Melenchon and part of the New Popular Front alliance.
Its leader, Mr Melenchon, is a deeply divisive figure in French politics thanks to his tax-and-spend proposals and class-war rhetoric.
Mr Bardella, 28, urged voters to secure a clear victory for his party.
He said France faced an “existential threat” from the left, whom he called “agents of chaos.”
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