French far right eyes power as rivals wrangle over scope of anti-Le Pen front
The first round of France’s legislative elections has confirmed that Marine Le Pen’s far right is now the dominant force in French politics, putting her anti-immigrant National Rally within reach of power. Whether the rest of the political spectrum still has the ability – and the will – to hold it back will determine the outcome of July 7 runoffs.
After a lightening campaign marred by a rise in hate speech, French voters on Sunday put the National Rally (RN) in a commanding position in the first round of snap elections, placing the party founded by supporters of Nazi-allied Vichy France at the gates of power.
Le Pen’s party and its partners on the right took a third of the first-round vote, five points clear of a fledgling coalition of the left known as the New Popular Front – and a staggering 12 points ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling alliance.
The nationalist, anti-immigrant party topped the race in 296 out of France’s 577 constituencies, winning 39 of them outright with over 50% of the vote. Whether it can clear the last hurdle in a second round next Sunday will hinge on a record number of three-way races pitting, in most cases, RN candidates against rivals from the left and Macron’s centre-right camp.
Once watertight, the dam has been steadily eroded, even as the far-right wave has grown stronger at each new election.
Macron’s baffling gamble
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