Rival parties race to block far right as France heads into legislative run-off

FRANCE 24

1 July 2024 at 7:38 am·1-min read

France is headed into a second and final round of voting on July 7 after the far right came out ahead in a first round on Sunday, sending centrist and leftist parties scrambling to keep it from securing a majority. FRANCE 24 looks at some of the possibilities that lie ahead.

French voters face a decisive choice on July 7 in the run-off of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country’s first far-right government since the Nazi occupation during World War II or no majority emerging at all.

Official results suggest Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, nationalist and eurosceptic National Rally party stands a good chance of winning the most seats in the lower house National Assembly for the first time but the outcome remains uncertain amid the complex voting system and political jockeying.

Dozens of candidates who won at least 50% of Sunday’s vote were elected outright. All the other races head to a second round June 7 involving two or three top candidates.

Polling projections suggest the National Rally will have the most seats in the next National Assembly, but it is unclear whether it will get an absolute majority of 289 of the 577 seats.

The French voting system is not proportionate to nationwide support for a party. Legislators are elected by district, and any candidate receiving more than 12.5 percent of the vote is eligible for the second round.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

RFI
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