Elections in France; Predictions Indicate that the 'Far Right' May Gain the Most Votes, but Not the Majority in Parliament

French voters are participating today, Sunday, July 8, in a 'decisive' second round of early parliamentary elections. According to polls, it is expected that the National Rally (R.N.) far-right party will secure the most votes but is unlikely to achieve a majority. According to an analysis by Reuters, such a result could lead the country into a chaotic hung parliament and significantly diminish President Emmanuel Macron's authority. Similarly, if the nationalist and Euro-skeptic party gains a majority, the pro-business and pro-European president may find himself forced into a difficult 'cohabitation'. Voting opened at 8 AM, closing at 6 PM in small towns and 8 PM in larger cities. Predicting the outcome is difficult and depends on whether voters heed calls from 'progressive alliances against the National Rally' to prevent the far-right from gaining power or support the far-right rivals. The Times of Israel reports that Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right faction, who has previously run for president three times, hoped that her party could achieve an absolute majority in parliament after finishing first in the first round of elections on June 29, appointing 28-year-old Jordan Bardella as prime minister. However, last week, over 200 tactical agreements were made among centrist and leftist candidates in electoral districts to prevent the National Rally's victory; a move reminiscent of the anti-far-right Republican Front formed when Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen's father, faced Jacques Chirac in the second round of the 2001 presidential election. This situation has led the latest polls to predict that the National Rally will fall significantly short of the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, although it will remain the largest party in parliament. According to Reuters, Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament who led the left in last month's European elections, described the second round of voting on Sunday as a simple referendum on whether the 'Le Pen family takes control of the country'. He told France Inter radio last week: 'France is on the edge of a cliff, and we don't know if we are going to jump or not.' Bardella stated that if the National Rally does not achieve a majority, he will refuse to form a government, although Le Pen has indicated she may attempt to do so if necessary. Reuters further reports that if the National Rally is deprived of a majority and refuses to form a government, contemporary France will find itself in uncharted territory. Coalition-building for either bloc will be challenging given the political differences between them. Previously, the Associated Press reported that Jordan Bardella, who has no government experience, stated he would use his potential prime ministerial power to prevent Emmanuel Macron from continuing to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine for the war against Russia. The National Rally, Bardella's party, has historical ties with Russia. The party has also questioned citizenship rights for individuals born in France and seeks to limit the rights of French citizens with dual nationality. Critics argue that this undermines fundamental human rights and poses a threat to France's democratic ideals. The political future of Macron and his allies remains uncertain; the far-right in France has approached parliament closely, with the potential failure of the far-right 'National Rally' party to achieve an absolute majority in parliament indicated by post-voting polls.