Shock as Macron loses control of National Assembly

Macron

President Emmanuel Macron of France

French President Emmanuel Macron has lost control of the National Assembly in legislative elections on Sunday, although his centrist Ensemble coalition won the greatest number of seats.

The outcome of the election is a major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis unless he is able to negotiate alliances with other parties.

Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition wants to raise the retirement age and further deepen EU integration.

But they will be well short of the absolute majority needed to control parliament, near-final results showed.

A broad left-wing alliance was set to be the biggest opposition group, while the far-right scored record-high wins and the conservatives were likely to become kingmakers.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called the outcome a “democratic shock” and added that if other blocs did not cooperate, “this would block our capacity to reform and protect the French.”

A hung parliament will require a degree of power-sharing and compromises among parties not experienced in France in recent decades.

There is no set script in France for how things will now unfold. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988.

“The result is a risk for our country in view of the challenges we have to face,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, while adding that from Monday on, Macron’s camp will work to seek alliances.

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Macron could eventually call a snap election if legislative gridlock ensues.

“The rout of the presidential party is complete and there is no clear majority in sight,” hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon told cheering supporters.

Leftwing Liberation called the result “a slap” for Macron, and economic daily Les Echos “an earthquake.”

United behind Melenchon, leftwing parties were seen on course to triple their score from the last legislative election in 2017.

In another significant change for French politics, far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party could score a ten-fold increase in MPs with as many as 90-95 seats, initial projections showed.

That would be the party’s biggest-ever representation in the assembly.

Initial projections by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed Macron’s Ensemble alliance winning 230-250 seats, the left-wing Nupes alliance securing 141-175 and Les Republicains 60-75.

Macron became in April the first French president in two decades to win a second term, as voters rallied to keep the far-right out of power.

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