French legislative elections: at least 200 candidates withdraw before the second round | French legislative elections 2024

Two hundred candidates qualified for the second round of the legislative elections in France, almost all of them left-wing or Macronists, had already withdrawn on Tuesday afternoon, in most cases in order to prevent a three-way race and to counter the far right, according to a provisional count by AFP.

This list may still change until 6 p.m. (local time), the deadline for submitting applications for the second round on July 7.

This starting line should confirm the constitution of a republican front against the RN and its allies.

The National Rally (RN, far right) and its allies came out on top in the first round with 33.1% of the vote and have 39 deputies elected in the first round, including the leading figure of the RN Marine Le Pen.

The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) obtained 27.99% of the votes and already has 32 elected representatives, while the presidential camp sank (20.8%).

The rise of the far right, which could lead a government for the first time since World War II, is being scrutinized abroad and is causing concern among France’s major European partners.

RN: withdraw, prove that you exist”,”text”:”Against the RN: withdraw, prove that you exist”}}”>Against the RN : give up, prove that you existheadlined the left-wing newspaper on Tuesday Release in a nod to the popular French song Resists performed by France Gall, former Eurovision winner.

Moral authority on the left, the former general secretary of the reformist union CFDT Laurent Berger warned in an interview with theAFP against all hitch in republican withdrawal.

Among these withdrawals, which concern constituencies where at least three candidates are qualified and where the RN is able to win, there are a majority of representatives of the left alliance as well as three ministers.

The aim is to prevent the RN to obtain an absolute majority of 289 deputies on Sunday evening of the second round. If this were achieved, a period of political uncertainty would open with a risk of the Assembly being blocked.

Marine Le Pen spoke on Tuesday of a relative majority of deputies”,”text”:”270deputies”}}”>270 deputies completed with support, so that the party president, Jordan Bardella, 28, agrees to lead a cohabitation government.

Marine’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founded the National Front in 1972 with two former members of the Waffen-SS, which became RN in 2018. Mr. Le Pen had at the time chosen the same emblem as that of the Italian neo-fascist party: a tricolor flame.

Obsessed with immigration and Jews, a fierce supporter of French Algeria, Jean-Marie Le Pen has been condemned several times for his excesses. His daughter has embarked for a decade on a strategy of de-demonization and normalization of the sulphurous party.

We have seven days to prevent France from experiencing a catastrophehammered home the social-democrat MEP Raphaël Glucksmann on Sunday evening, calling on all candidates who came in third place to withdraw.

But for its ally from the radical left, La France Insoumise (LFI), the rule will only be imposed where the RN came out on top, according to its very divisive leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

In the presidential camp, the line is not clear.

At a meeting of his government on Monday, Mr Macron did not give clear instructions, according to several ministerial sources. But according to one participant, he said that not a voice should not go to the far right.

Several Macronist candidates have announced that they will remain in office regardless. And the outgoing majority is dragging its feet when it comes to supporting a candidate. LFIa turn-off for centrist voters and for some on the left, due to the excesses of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose party is accused of anti-Semitism.

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire himself dismissed the LFI et RN back to back, assimilating their programs to [sortie de la France de l’Union européenne, NDLR] disguised”,”text”:”two Frexit[sortie de la France de l’Union européenne, NDLR] disguised”}}”>two Frexit [sortie de la France de l’Union européenne, NDLR] disguised.

The situation in France is being closely followed abroad.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock admitted that she could not remain indifferent at the risk that a party who sees Europe as the problem and not the solution comes out on top at his neighbor and ally.

Italian far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, on the other hand, welcomed the fact that the demonization does not work anymore.

Cautious, Washington indicated that it had […] in the democratic processes of France”,”text”:”fully confident[…] in the democratic processes of France”}}”>fully confident […] in the democratic processes of France and wish to pursue a close cooperation with Paris, while the war rages between Ukraine and Russia.