France Faces Hung Parliament As Far Right Suffers Unexpected Blow

France is currently witnessing a political dilemma as no party won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections. The Olympic host country is moving towards a hung parliament after a surprise left-wing surge that defeated both the far right and President Emmanuel Macron’s party. 

The left-wing alliance called the New Popular Front, comprising socialists, ecologists, and Communists, won the most seats in Sunday’s second-round vote. Out of the 577-seat National Assembly, the New Popular Front secured 182 seats. At the same time, Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance won 163 seats, and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies managed to get only 143 seats. Notably, a party requires 289 seats for an absolute majority. 

Sunday’s results were a huge setback for the National Rally Party. In the first round of polls, Marine Le Pen's right wing came in first but suffered severe defeat in the second and final round. “The tide is rising. It did not rise high enough this time, but it continues to rise and, consequently, our victory has only been delayed," said three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, as quoted by Al Jazeera. It is worth mentioning that France does not have a tradition of lawmakers from rival political camps coming together to form a government. Multiple reports suggest that Emmanuel Macron could opt for a cooling-off period that will give parties enough time to hold coalition talks.