French National Assembly Election: Second round underway

On July 7th, France held the second round of parliamentary elections, electing the remaining 501 members out of 577 seats. This was the decisive round of the early parliamentary elections.

Approximately 49.5 million registered voters participated in the second round of the French parliamentary elections. (Source: Reuters)

The French parliamentary (lower house) elections will decide the fate of the three largest political blocs: the National Rally (RN) and its allies, the New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, and the outgoing center-left coalition of President Emmanuel Macron.

Approximately 49.5 million registered voters participated in this second round of voting. More than 1,000 candidates competed for the remaining 501 seats out of a total of 577 in Parliament, after 76 candidates had already been elected in the first round.

The results of the first round of the election, held on June 30th and released by the French Interior Ministry, show that the far-right National Rally (RN) party is leading with 37 seats. Following closely behind is the NFP with 32 seats, while the center-left coalition of incumbent President Macron has only secured 2 seats.

According to a survey published on July 5th by the consulting firm Elabe, approximately 33% of French respondents said they wanted the RN to win the most seats in the National Assembly in this election. Meanwhile, the figures for the NFP and President Macron's coalition were 24% and 18%, respectively.

Previously, President Macron's center-left coalition had collaborated with the left-wing coalition to prevent the far-right from gaining an absolute majority in Parliament. Consequently, more than 200 left-wing and center-wing candidates withdrew from the race in the second round of elections, aiming to prevent the RN's victory.

Any party wishing to form a government would need to secure an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat Parliament. The latest projections suggest the RN will win the most seats in Parliament, but not an absolute majority.

Macron had previously stated that he would continue his second term until the end of 2027, regardless of which side wins these legislative elections.

Earlier, due to concerns about potential violence following the announcement of the election results, the French Interior Ministry announced it would deploy 30,000 police and gendarmes at polling stations, including 5,000 personnel in the capital and suburbs of Paris.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 AM local time on July 7th (1:00 PM Vietnam time) and closed at 6:00 PM (11:00 PM Vietnam time) on the same day. Polling stations in major cities such as Paris, Lyon, and Marseille closed later, at 8:00 PM local time.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bau-cu-quoc-hoi-phap-tien-hanh-vong-hai-277815.html