The left-leaning New Popular Front alliance in France emerged as the front-runners in the recent parliamentary election’s second voting phase, according to polling specialists. Despite not securing a comprehensive majority in parliament, the group positioned itself for an unexpected victory over the National Rally (RN), Party headed by Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader.
The Ifop poll conducted for broadcaster TF1 suggested that the New Popular Front could secure between 180 and 215 seats in the Parliament in this second voting round. Similarly, the Ipsos poll carried out for France TV anticipated that the left-wing group could obtain between 172-215 seats. Another survey by Opinionway for C News TV projected a victory for the New Popular Front, ranging between 180-210 seats.
The centrist bloc led by President Emmanuel Macron adjudged to have a slim advantage over Marine Le Pen’s RN party in the contest for second place, in accordance with these poll results.
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Notably, at least 289 seats are required for obtaining a clean sweep in the National Assembly, which forms the lower house of the French Parliament.
The voting on Sunday followed a first-round election where the RN made substantial gains, bringing about the possibility of France’s inaugural far-right government since the conclusion of World War II. In response, various centrist and left-wing parties combined their efforts in the previous week to develop an anti-RN blockade, thereby preventing the RN from attaining a decisive majority in the 577-seat National Assembly.
The magnitude of the election raised the voting turnout significantly. The polls opened at 8 am on Sunday and by 5 pm, the participation rate reached 59.71 per cent. This is the highest figure recorded for that time since 1981 and a steep rise compared to the corresponding percentage of 38.11 per cent during the previous election in 2022.
Macron had taken the least expected step of announcing an early election three years ahead of its scheduled time, after a defeat by the RN in the prior month’s European parliamentary vote. This move, intended to unsettle Macron’s rivals, had instead sparked national surprise and caused resentment amongst many of his political followers.