Khushi Maheshwari, Pune
The French political backdrop seems to have become an uphill battle, particularly in the past one month. The latest development in voting trends has led the country into an impasse, with a hung parliament at the core. The battle is between the far-right party called National Rally (RN), the centrist party- Ensemble alliance, and the left-leaning New Popular Front (NFP).
Background
After observing a surge in far right victories in the European Union Elections, French president Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the parliament and hold snap legislative elections. A snap election typically refers to premature elections that take place before the serving regime has completed its full term.
He said, “Far right parties are progressing everywhere in the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself,” he said. “I decided to give you the choice. Therefore I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight.”
This was done because Macaron’s Centrist Party failed to meet expectations in the European elections after receiving approximately 15.2 percent of the votes, in contrast to the high proportion of votes the RN received.
The current climate
The RN blazed through the first round of voting and was close to forming the first far-right government since World War Two when things took a sharp turn after a decisive withdrawal by close to 200 centrist and leftist candidates in an attempt to prevent the splitting of votes. Since Sunday evening the left had become the largest political bloc to ever exist in French politics. The French voters stayed true to their loyalties and assisted the NFP in bagging 182 seats in the National Assembly. The centrist Ensemble Alliance managed to win 163 seats and the far right National Rally won a total of 143 seats.
Victory or a deadlock?
Even though the NFP emerged as the largest bloc among its rivals, it did not succeed in achieving an absolute majority of 289 seats. This means that France is left with a hung parliament. This unprecedented political instability comes at a time when the country is gearing up to welcome other nations for Olympics 2024, scheduled to be held in Paris from the end of this month, cornering the nation into a state of disorder in more than one way.