Paris:
France held the second round of historic elections on Sunday, with the far-right expected to emerge as the largest party in a deeply divided parliament.
The atmosphere in the country is tense, with 30,000 police deployed to prevent any trouble and voters worried that a seismic election could upend France’s political landscape.
In the eastern village of Rosheim, outside Strasbourg, an “anguished” 72-year-old Antoine Schrammek said he feared France was facing “a turning point in the history of the republic”.
Adela Fournier, a 41-year-old civil servant, agreed: “I hope that emotions will calm down, but we’re still a long way from there.”
President Emmanuel Macron threatened to call general elections three years early after his party suffered a crushing defeat in June’s European elections, but the gamble appears to have backfired.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party came in first in the first round of voting on June 30 and is expected to repeat that feat in Sunday’s runoff election.
But she may not be able to secure enough of a majority to force President Macron to appoint Le Pen’s aide, Jordan Bardella, 28, leader of the National Party for Liberalism (RN), as prime minister just weeks before the Paris Olympics.
A hanging parliament, dominated by eurosceptics and anti-immigration parties, threatens to weaken France’s international position and undermine Western unity in the face of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
European Union officials, already learning how to deal with far-right parties in power in Italy and the Netherlands, are watching France closely.
And in Rome, Pope Francis chose the date of France’s vote as a day of warning against “ideological temptations and populists”, adding that “democracy is not healthy in today’s world”.
Amid tensions across the country, more than 200 strategic voting agreements were made last week between centre-right and left-wing candidates in constituencies in an attempt to prevent the RN from winning an absolute majority.
It has been hailed as a revival of the anti-far-right Republican Front, first formed when Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, faced off against Jacques Chirac in the 2002 presidential runoff election.
Opinion polls have projected the RN to still be the largest party, although it is far short of the 289 seats needed for a majority in the 577-seat National Assembly.
“Catastrophic”
Such an outcome could enable Macron to forge a broader coalition to rival the RN and keep Gabriel Attal as prime minister in the interim.
However, with the Olympics due to begin in France on July 26, this situation could signal the beginning of a long period of political paralysis.
“The danger now is that the far right will gain a majority, which would have disastrous consequences,” Attal said on Friday in his final interview before the election with French television.
Many in France are still confused as to why President Macron would call elections that could double the RN’s number of seats in parliament and halve the number of centrist lawmakers.
But the president, known for his theatrical gestures, appears intent on carrying out what he calls a “clarification” of French politics, which he hopes will ultimately leave three clear camps: far right, centre and far left.
The two organisations’ final polls, published on Friday, predicted the RN would win 170-210 seats, the New Popular Front’s (NFP) broad-leaning left-wing coalition would win 145-185 seats and Macron’s centrist bloc would win 118-150 seats.
Macron’s Ensemble coalition is expected to come in third, but the more successful NFP is a fragile mix of several competing factions, ranging from traditional Socialists to firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left Unbowed France (LFI) party.
“Weakening the voice of France”
“France is on the brink of a dramatic political shift,” analysts at the European Council on Foreign Relations said, warning that Mr Macron would face “legislative deadlock” if he took power after the election.
This will weaken “France’s voice on the European and international stage.”
Macron, who has disappeared from public view in recent days to avoid further provoking voters, has vowed to serve out his term until 2027, when he must step down.
It was then that Le Pen realised her best chance of winning the Elysee Palace on her fourth try.
After voting began in France’s overseas territories on Saturday, polling stations in mainland France were due to open at 6am and close by 6pm.
Forecasts that predict the final outcome with near-perfect accuracy are released shortly thereafter, and political leaders respond swiftly in a flurry of excitement across the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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