The French vote today in parliamentary elections that could make history, with the far right be closer than ever to power. These are early polls decided by French President Emmanuel Macron, after the watershed European elections, in a high-risk bet. There were many who commented that she is betting on her future from France and Europe as its popularity plummeted.
Polls will close at 9pm Greek time and shortly after we will have the first announcement to evaluate the results.
The National Alert (RN) of Marina LePen it’s him Jordan Bardela has a clear lead in research – three weeks after his victory in the European elections. More than 2.6 million people out of France’s 49 million voters registered to vote by proxy, a sign of the high turnout expected in such a crucial electoral contest.
This is an election with two rounds and most of the 577 seats of the National Assembly will not be decided until the second round of voting next Sunday.
O electoral campaign lasted just 20 days and this also benefited RN, which emphasized an agenda centered on immigration, combating broader insecurity, as well as reducing taxes to address the cost of living crisis.
RN wants an absolute majority – But the battle will be decided in the second round
Bardella wants to become RN’s first prime minister and his party is confident of winning dozens of constituencies in the first round. But he says he will only take power if the party wins an absolute parliamentary majority of 289 seats.
Once the first results are released on Sunday afternoon, RN’s rivals will have to decide who to support in second-round battles across France in a bid to ensure an absolute majority doesn’t happen.
If the polls are correct, many of Sunday’s elections will pit the RN against a hastily assembled left-wing alliance called the New Popular Front, which believes it can even win the election. In the latest opinion polls, it came in second place.
In previous elections, parties across the spectrum came together to keep out the far right.
The total reform
But RN leaders worked hard for years to shed their extremist image. We essentially have a total reformulation of the French extreme right, with Marine Le Pen even disowning her own father. Party officials condemn anti-Semitism and any act of hatred and violence, while also seeking openness to the LGBTQ community.
Alongside policies that aim to give French citizens a “national preference” in terms of employment and housing, they aim to reduce VAT on energy and allow those under 30 to be exempt from income tax. They condemn anti-Semitism and all acts of hatred and violence, while seeking openness to the LGBTQ community.
French statements in the international media, as well as opinion polls, reveal that for a significant portion of the country’s citizens, the RN is no longer a far-right party, but a mainstream political party, which defends conservative ideas and the traditional way of life, while promising security.
The Macron era is over
President Macron’s Ensemble alliance is expected to face a serious hemorrhage of seats and Gabriel Attal’s days as prime minister appear numbered, although polls show that he remains among the most popular politicians in France.
“The Macron era is over,” said François Hollande. The former French president, who was once a mentor to Macron, is running again for parliament – now as a candidate for the New Popular Front.
Yet even Macron’s allies are angered by his decision to call an early election. France would normally hold elections in three years. And in three years a lot can certainly change. The polls come in a “busy” summer as the country prepares for the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
The riddle of Bardela
Now the decision remains the same. The polls are open and Jordan Bardela could soon become Prime Minister of France at the age of 28. But for many he remains an enigma.
He has earned the nickname “Monsieur Selfie” among rivals as he never turns down a photo with the crowd. He is young, handsome, approachable, friendly, but that does not mean that his positions are different from Le Pen’s.
He’s 28 and his name isn’t… Le Pen: How Jordan Bardela is dispelling the stigma of the far right
For his supporters, however, he is the country’s political future. And he was certainly the person who helped Marine Le Pen complete the “reform” of the far-right National Alarm.
Its appeal to young people is impressive. A poll carried out by Elabe showed that 32% of voters aged between 19 and 34 voted for Bardella’s party on Sunday, while just 5% chose Macron’s party, which suffered a landslide victory.
With a “polished” profile and having so far avoided any major mistakes or blunders, he has won over public opinion, which, however, seems to focus more on his image and character than on his positions or whether he has in-depth knowledge of the issues involved in the agenda. On some issues, it is clear that this is a softer version of the xenophobic agenda that has always been promoted by the far right. On others, it is not even clear what its direction is. However, public opinion’s weariness with the agreed agenda and its sometimes obsessive promotion have helped the French to see in him a new proposal.