argia.eus
INPRIMATU
The New Popular Front wins and the extreme right is placed third
Jenofa Berhokoirigoin @Jenofa_B 2024ko uztailaren 11

At 20:00 hours the first data came out, which has surprised in general: The far-right RN that used to locate all the surveys has been third and the New Popular Front of the Left FHB. The NB, which was seen in the majority or in the absolute majority, has been a slap for the National Union and for the FHB a surprise and a joy. As the election evening progresses, the new composition of the French Parliament has come late: The left FHB has 182 deputies, the Ensemble of Macron 163 seats, the far-right RN 143, the Republican Party and the Right 68 and other leftists 11 and other independent 10. As in the first round, participation has been high, 66.6%, the highest in the last 25 years. Unlike the first round, the left has emerged the first force and the Ensemble block, which supports President Macron, has been put in place. Under the threat of the far right, the "republican vote" demanded by the left and by Macron has therefore been given: the voters voted the favorite and, if not, the candidate to cut the road to RN.

However, the Left has not achieved an absolute majority – 289 Members – and so the blockades and headaches that have taken place in Parliament since 2022 can be foreseen in this legislature (precisely, the Macron party lost an absolute majority in 2022). Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has announced that he will resign as soon as the results are known: "Following the Republican tradition, I will resign to the president of the Republic." The Ensemble Macronist Group has taken the decision by placing itself in a minority position and has specified that it will continue its functions until the new government is formed. In particular, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are scheduled for 26 July and, in this context, it has underlined the need to bring forward the posts. The President of the Government, Emmanuel Macron, has not taken the floor and has assured us that when the new composition of Parliament is clarified it will make public "the decisions to be taken".

Despite being placed in third place, the ultra-right RN has achieved a great development, the largest among all parties, with 143 Members

"It has won social justice, it has won environmental justice and it has won the people," declared as soon as the results are known the left-wing representative, ecologist Marine Tondelier. The results have been received with surprise and joy by the representatives of the left and the citizens are thanking all the participants. The protests that were called against the extreme right eventually turned into demonstrations in favour of the victory of the left in various cities such as Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux or Nantes. Fabien Roussel of the Communist Party has delivered the following message: "The people have avoided what was planned. I am proud of the people. We must respond to that breathing, it is so imperative. I also call on the representative of France Insumisoa, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, to clarify that the New People ' s Front will be in government: "In its own way, the FHB has saved the Republic." PSOE Secretary-General Olivier Faure has also stressed that the time has come to "build a new political project" for the French State.

That is how the representative of the extreme right, Jordan Bardella, responded, who saw grief and disappointment on his face: "Alliances of dishonor and dangerous electoral forms will prevent the French from having a policy of recovery." Marine Le Pen has also taken the floor, announcing a more optimistic reading: The RN has lost because of the "alliance against nature" that goes from the Republican party to the French submissive, but, according to him, they will come to power sooner or later. He has put the spotlight on the victory he achieved. In spite of the third position, the extreme right has received great development, the greatest of all aspects: In 2017 he had eight Members, in 2022 he achieved 88 and on this occasion 143 Members.

Left to the government, in the absence of a prime minister

The representative for the office of Prime Minister will be presented by the left FHB. This will be one of the first major consensuses that this broad unity must reach in the coming days. Indeed, among them the leftist parties have different strategies and political positions politically, but, going beyond the discrepancies, they have demonstrated at this stage the maturity to make an end of unity, and that to cut the way to the far right. Seeing Macron's lack of support, because if he departed separately, the RN's victory was safe.

The representatives of the leftist parties spent the election night working and the next morning had a clear message: This week they should present "the new composition of the government".

If we look more closely at the composition of the New Popular Front FHB, about 75 belong to France Extreme Left Mass, between 62 and 67 to the Socialist Party, between 33 and 35 to environmental training, a dozen to the Communist Party and three to the nationalist coalition Peio Dufau, which becomes the first seat of the French Parliament. In this respect, France is the strongest party of Members, but if we look at the results of the previous elections, it is the Socialist Party that has achieved the most significant development – in 2022 it won 31 seats.

Although there is no clear majority in Parliament, ecologist Yannick Jadot has warned that it is necessary to agree on the left: "It will take a few days for Parliament to organise itself and try to govern this country," he said. (...) The parliamentary groups will have to analyse all the options, but, whether or not it is, it will have to be completed around our project." Having discarded the indiscriminate France, some supporters of Macron are calling other leftist parties, including former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. Another block for Macron to move forward in the majority would be the right-wing unity between the Ensembles and the Republicans, which add more seats than those on the left. It remains to be seen how the forces are going to be organised, but the only thing that is clear is that the extreme right is not the one that dominates.