The Prime Minister called for “depriving the extreme right of having an absolute majority” in the National Assembly and announced that the presidential party’s candidates who came in third place would withdraw in the second round.
A “clear objective”. The Prime Minister affirmed on the evening of the first round of the legislative elections, which saw Marine Le Pen’s party come out on top, that “not a single vote should go to the National Rally”. To “prevent” the party “from having an absolute majority” in the National Assembly, Gabriel Attal assured that the presidential party candidates who came third would withdraw for the second round.
“Tonight is not an evening like any other (…) the lesson of this evening is that the extreme right is on the verge of power,” lamented the Prime Minister.
“France deserves that we do not hesitate,” insisted the current Prime Minister, while 300 candidates from Ensemble la République are qualified for the second round. “I say it to each of our voters, not one vote must go to the National Rally,” continued Gabriel Attal during a statement in the Matignon courtyard.
“The choice of responsibility”
The head of government said he was “standing up with all his might against the dire project of the extreme right”. “In other constituencies, this will involve the withdrawal of our candidates whose continued participation would have led to the election of a National Rally MP over another candidate who, like us, defends the values of the Republic”, continued Gabriel Attal, calling for a “difficult choice, the choice of responsibility”.
According to estimates from the Elabe Institute for BFMTV, RMC and La Tribune On Sunday, the National Rally obtained 33% of the votes and could obtain an absolute majority of seats, with a projection of between 255 and 295 seats. The presidential coalition, gathered under the banner Together for the Republic, obtained 22% of the votes.
On the evening of the first round, Emmanuel Macron called on Sunday, June 30, for a “large, clearly democratic and republican gathering for the second round” against the RN. “The high turnout in the first round of these legislative elections demonstrates the importance of this vote for all our compatriots and the desire to clarify the political situation. Their democratic choice obliges us,” added the President of the Republic.
