In France, itβs now only a matter of time before the far right takes power | Paul Taylor
Emmanuel Macronβs snap election gamble has backfired spectacularly as voters of the left and right united to reject him
Sooner or later, possibly as early as next week, Franceβs far-right National Rally (RN) is going to take power. Thatβs the main lesson of Sundayβs first round of snap parliamentary elections, in which Marine Le Penβs anti-immigration nationalists amplified their European election score on a far higher turnout.
President Emmanuel Macronβs gamble of dissolving parliament and seeking a βclarificationβ from voters after an ultra-short three-week campaign backfired spectacularly on his own supporters. His centrist coalition finished a distant third behind the RN and the leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) in the popular vote and looks set to keep fewer than 100 of its 249 seats in the 577-member national assembly. After Sundayβs first ballot, Macron called for a βbroad rally in support of republican and democratic candidatesβ and against the extreme right. But few people are listening.
Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre
Continue reading...Β© Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP
Β© Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP