A victory tastes like a defeat: Macron’s alliance is the largest, but it loses an absolute majority

For Macron, the question ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections was whether he would succeed in securing an absolute majority of 289 out of 577 seats. The French president has pinned all his hopes on this, because the disappointing result will make it even more difficult to implement the policy. Then he has to convince parliamentarians from other parties to get a majority in order to vote on new bills.

Full screening by Agence France-Presse shows that the Squad Alliance! It might become the largest formation in the Assemblée Nationale, but it doesn’t even come close to an absolute majority: a squad! It won 245 seats. The left-wing Nupes won 135 seats, and the far-right RN party achieved a historic achievement with 89 seats.

The center-right Right Republic (LR) party won 61 seats and its UDI ally 3, compared to about 100 seats in the previous legislature.

less than expected

A victory tastes like the defeat of Macron and his henchmen. “It’s a far cry from what we had hoped,” said Minister Gabriel Attal, the first to respond to the results from Macron’s camp. The French did not give us an absolute majority, they did not give us any other party. What is emerging is an unprecedented situation in political and parliamentary life, which will oblige us to transcend certainties and contradictions. ” TF1†

Government spokeswoman Olivia Gregoire also spoke of a “disappointing” result. “We will work with anyone who wants to move the country forward, our hand outstretched,” she said. France 2† “There are still moderate right-wing MPs in Parliament who will be on our side.”

“History day”

A cheerful mood prevailed at the other parties. In Nupes, for example, a coalition that includes the far left La France Insoumise (LFI), the Green Party and the PS. We are talking about a “historic” day. “The left has never put the outgoing president in a relatively minority position,” chanted Sandrine Russo of the Green Party. For LFI’s Clémentine Autain, the “amazing breakout” confirms that LFI leader Mélenchon has chosen the right strategy. Melenchon himself stated in his initial response that this outcome – “completely unexpected and unprecedented” – was above all “Macron’s defeat”.

A party was also held at the National Assembly. With the exception of 1986, this is the first time that the far right has won a sufficient number of seats to form a parliamentary bloc. Interim President Jordan Bardella spoke of a “tsunami” sweeping the country. “The lesson we learned tonight is that the French people have made Emmanuel Macron the leader of a minority,” he said. TF1† Marine Le Pen said she hopes to unite “all patriots” from the left and the right. “We will face strong opposition with regard to the institutions because the interest of France and the French people is our only compass,” he added.

The big names are gone

Macron is not only reaching the number of seats he had hoped for, but he is also seeing the disappearance of some big names from Parliament. Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon will lose her seat, as will Christophe Castaner, the former interior minister. Minister of State for Maritime Affairs Justin Benin and Minister of Environmental Transition Amelie de Montchalin were both defeated by a left-wing candidate. And the president of the association, Richard Ferran, had already admitted his defeat. According to an unwritten rule, already implemented by Macron in 2017, losing ministers must leave the government.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne won a duel in Normandy.

Fewer women

The new French parliament will consist of 215 women (37.26%) and 362 men (62.74%). As a result, there will be fewer women in the National Assembly than after the 2017 parliamentary elections (39%). This is evidenced by a complete count of 577 seats for Agence France-Presse.

In 2017, there were 39 percent more women in the association than ever before. It was 12 percentage points more than it was in 2012 and more than triple the number in 2002, when it was just 12 percent.

weak presence

And the French were not eager, Sunday, to go to the polls for the fourth time in a short time. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 53.77 percent of those entitled to vote did not turn up. That’s higher than in the first round, when 52.49 percent of eligible voters did not turn up. However, the depth record for 2017 was not reached. Then 57.36 percent of the French stayed at home.