Voters in mainland France cast their ballots on Sunday in the first round of early parliamentary elections which could return the government to nationalist, far-right parties for the first time since the Nazi era.
The two rounds of elections ending on July 7 could have implications for European financial markets, Western support for Ukraine and the management of France's nuclear arsenal and global military power.
Many French voters are frustrated by inflation and other economic concerns, as well as the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, who is seen as arrogant and out of touch with their lives. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally party has responded to that discontent, particularly through online platforms such as TikTok, and has led the polls ahead of the election.
Owen Franken – Corbis/Getty Images
A new coalition on the left, the New Popular Front, also poses a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance Together for the Republic. It includes the French Socialists and Communists, the Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed party and promises roll back an unpopular pension reform law that has raised the retirement age to 64among other economic reforms.
There are 49.5 million registered voters who will elect the 577 members of the National Assembly, the influential lower house of the French parliament.
Turnout on Sunday afternoon was 25.9% according to Interior Ministry figures, higher than the 18.43% at midday during the 2022 parliamentary elections. The voting took place during the traditional first week of the summer holidays in France, and requests for mail-in ballots were at least five times higher than in 2022.
The first poll forecasts were expected at 8:00 p.m. (18:00 GMT), when the last polls close. Early official results were expected later on Sunday.
Macron voted in Le Touquet, a seaside resort in northern France. Le Pen also voted in the north, her party's stronghold, but in the working-class town of Hennin-Beaumont.
Photo by Owen Franken – Corbis/Getty Images
Paris voters had issues from immigration to the rising cost of living on their minds as the country has become more divided between the far-right and far-left blocs, with a deeply unpopular and weakened president at the political center. The campaign was marred by increasing hate speech.
“People don't like what happened,” said Cynthia Justine, 44. “People feel like they've lost a lot in the last few years. People are angry. I'm angry.” She added that with “the rise of hate speech” it was necessary to express frustrations with those who hold and aspire to power.
She said it was important for a woman to vote, as women have not always had that right. And “because I'm a black woman, it's even more important. There's a lot at stake today.”
Macron mentioned the early elections after his party was defeated in the European Parliament elections earlier in June by the National Rally, which has historic links to racism and anti-Semitism and is hostile to France's Muslim community. It also has historical ties with Russia.
Macron's call was a bold gamble that French voters complacent about the European elections would be galvanized into taking on moderate forces in national elections to keep the far right out of power.
Instead, pre-election polls suggested that the National Rally was gaining support and could win a parliamentary majority. In that scenario, Macron would be expected to appoint 28-year-old National Rally leader Jordan Bardella as prime minister in an uneasy power-sharing system known as “cohabitation.”
Macron has said he will not step down until his presidential term ends in 2027, but cohabitation would weaken him both domestically and on the world stage.
One 64-year-old voter, Philippe Lempereur, said he was tired of politicians from the left, right and center and what he called their inability to work together on issues like ensuring people have shelter and enough to eat. “We vote by default, for the least bad option,” he said. “I'd rather vote than do nothing.”
The results of the first round provide an indication of voter sentiment, but not necessarily the overall composition of the next National Assembly. Predictions are difficult because of the complicated voting system and because parties will work between rounds to build alliances in some constituencies or withdraw from others.
Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the past, such maneuvers helped keep far-right candidates from power. But support for Le Pen's party is deep and widespread.
Bardella, who has no government experience, says he would use the prime minister's powers to prevent Macron from continuing to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine for the war with Russia.
The National Rally has also questioned the right to citizenship for people born in France and wants to restrict the rights of French citizens with dual nationality. Critics say this undermines human rights and threatens France's democratic ideals.
Meanwhile, huge public spending promises from the National Rally and especially the left-wing coalition have roiled markets and fueled concerns about France's heavy debt burden, which has already been criticized by EU watchdogs.
In the troubled French Pacific region of New Caledonia, polling stations were closed early under a curfew that authorities extended until July 8. Violence there flared last month, leaving nine people dead, following attempts by Macron’s government to amend the French constitution and alter voting lists, which indigenous Kanaks feared would further marginalize them, who have long sought to break away from France.
Voters in France's other overseas territories, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and French Polynesia, and those voting in offices opened by embassies and consulates across the Americas, cast their ballots on Saturday.
