Initial projections from the second round of the 2024 French legislative election indicate that the right has fallen short of expectations and that leftists have secured the most seats. This comes after the leftist parties came together as one in an attempt to defeat the National Rally.
"A projection by polling firm Elabe estimated that the New Popular Front—a coalition of parties that includes socialists, greens and far-left France Unbowed—is expected to garner between 178 and 205 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. The party of President Emmanuel Macron and its allies won between 157 and 174, according to Elabe, while Le Pen’s National Rally and its allies finished between 113 and 148 seats," the Wall Street Journal reports.
Exit polls show that the leftist New Popular Front is expected to win between 172 and 192 seats, according to CNN. President Emmanuel Macaron’s centrist party, Ensemble, came in second and is estimated to receive 150 to 170 seats. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally came in third, with between 132 and 152 seats.
In response to the coordinated attempt to combat the National Rally, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the National Rally's pick for PM and a protege of Le Pen, said that the leftist parties had come together in an "alliance of dishonor."
"Tonight," Bardella said, "these electoral agreements have thrown France into the arms of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s extreme left. I say this with gravity: Depriving millions of French the possibility to see their ideas brought to power will never be a viable destiny for France."
While the National Rally is expected to significantly increase its number of seats, the results fall short of expectations for the party that won the first round of snap elections. Despite the surprising outcome for the left, no party has achieved an absolute majority of 289 seats, leading to a potentially complex process to determine the next Prime Minister.
A final tally of the results is expected by Monday. Voter turnout for the election was 59.71%, the highest since 1981.
