French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly reached an agreement with the far-left New Popular Front (NFP) to prevent Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) from gaining governmental power. According to multiple reports, over 210 far-left or Macronist candidates have withdrawn from the election, aiming to block RN from securing a parliamentary majority.
In the first round of voting for the National Assembly on Sunday, RN performed strongly, with Macron’s coalition finishing third, as reported by Reuters. RN garnered 33.15% of the vote, the NFP secured 22.99%, and Macron’s Ensemble received 20.04%, according to France 24.
The New Popular Front is a coalition of far-left parties, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed, the Socialist Party, the Green Party, and the Communist Party, as detailed by The Washington Post. To thwart RN, Macron and the far-left agreed to withdraw their third-place candidates ahead of the second round of voting on July 7, allowing centrist or leftist candidates in second place to challenge RN, France 24 reported.
RN is projected to win between 250 and 300 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, needing 289 seats to form a majority government, according to France 24. Marine Le Pen stated that a victory of 270 seats would enable RN to negotiate forming a coalition government. Should RN achieve enough seats, they plan to appoint 28-year-old Jordan Bardella as Prime Minister, requiring them to cohabit with Macron's presidency.
Macron has previously criticized both the far-left and far-right as threats to the French political system. The decision to collaborate with the far-left was aimed at preventing a right-wing government from forming, Reuters reported.
