Initial Assessments of the French Parliamentary Elections: Unexpected Defeat for Marine Le Pen's Far-Right Party

In the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday, a coalition of far-left forces has unexpectedly taken the lead over the far-right extremists. According to Reuters, this is a significant blow to Marine Le Pen's far-right party, the National Rally, which hinders her from forming a government. If confirmed, the election results will divide the parliament into three large leftist groups with very different views, groups that have traditionally had no cooperation with each other. Based on predictions aligned with polls after the election, which are based on a sample of initial results from polling stations, the left coalition, uniting far-left groups, socialists, and greens, has secured between 172 to 215 seats out of 577. These three groups have long had disagreements with each other. Reuters states that these predictions are usually reliable. When the initial predictions were announced, cheers erupted at left coalition gatherings in Paris. At the greens' headquarters, activists shouted with joy and embraced each other. In contrast, there was a shocking silence and tears at the far-right National Rally party. This outcome will be humiliating for Emmanuel Macron, the President of France. However, it will also be a major disappointment for Marine Le Pen's National Rally party and the anti-European Union opposition. Weeks ago, it was predicted that her party would win the elections and secure between 115 to 155 seats. The first official results are expected to be announced late Sunday. Voters punished Macron and his ruling coalition for the price crisis, failures in providing public services, as well as issues of immigration and security. Le Pen and her party benefited from these discontentments. According to the Associated Press, Macron announced early elections after his centrist coalition lost to the National Rally party in the mid-June European Parliament vote, which has 'historical ties to racism and anti-Semitism and is hostile towards the Muslim community in France.' As parliamentary voting begins in France, the 'far-right' was leading in pre-election polls, with predictions indicating that the 'far-right' could secure the most votes, but not a parliamentary majority.