The champagne was on ice at the far-right National Rally's (RN) headquarters, but the celebratory mood swiftly turned to disbelief when the first projected results from Sunday's parliamentary election appeared on TV screens.
For days, Marine Le Pen had confidently predicted that her party would triumph with an outright majority and her protege Jordan Bardella would be prime minister. Instead, the National Rally was on course to come third, behind a left-wing alliance and President Emmanuel Macron's centrist bloc.
It was undone to a large extent by tactical dealmaking between centrist and leftist opponents, who pulled more than 200 candidates from three-way races to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote.
The projected result brought to a shuddering halt what had appeared to be the far right's relentless rise in France, carefully engineered by Le Pen who had sough to clean up her party's image and tap the grievances of voters angry over living costs, strained public services, and immigration.
To be sure, Le Pen and her party have suffered disappointment before, most recently her 2022 defeat to Macron in the presidential election, and have managed to bounce back more strongly than before.
But for now, the outcome was a bitter pill to swallow.
"The results are disappointing and they don't represent what French people want," said Jocelyn Cousin, 18, who had come to party HQ expecting a victory party.
The RN's momentum had appeared unstoppable after it trounced the centrists in European elections in early June and came first, ahead of the hastily assembled leftist New Popular Front, in the first round of the parliamentary vote on June 30.
Le Pen and Bardella attributed their party's setback on Sunday to the what Bardella called the "disgraceful alliance" the anti-RN forces, who he said had caricatured the party and disrespected its voters.
But IPSOS pollster Brice Teinturier pointed to the RN's own shortcomings, including revelations before the run-off that several of its candidates had expressed xenophobic views, raising questions over whether the party had really ditched its more toxic past.
"What happened is also that RN candidates themselves showed in this campaign that they either were not ready or had in their ranks candidates that are antisemitic, xenophobic or homophobic," Teinturier told France 2 television.
'TIDE IS RISING'
Florent de Kersauson, an RN candidate in Brittany in western France, acknowledged the fallout had been damaging. But he also said voters may have felt the party was arrogant in predicting an absolute majority.
"I thought it was strange that they said that," said Kersauson, who lost his race against a pro-Macron candidate. "It seemed like something that was very hard to achieve."
Bardella and Le Pen strove to put a brave face on their result. The party had increased its share of seats in the National Assembly to a record high, they noted, vowing to keep fighting until they won power.
"The tide is rising, but it didn't rise quite high enough this time," said Le Pen, who is likely to mount her fourth presidential campaign in 2027. "Our victory has merely been delayed."
That was also the feeling among many of the supporters gathered at party HQ in Paris.
"I see our victory coming. People are going to understand that the National Rally is not so horrible. I believe it will happen in 2027. I have a lot of hope and I'll continue to fight," said Elea da Cunha, 17.
Frederic-Pierre Vos, a close associate of Le Pen and former RN party lawyer elected in a constituency north of Paris, said the hung parliament thrown up by the election would mean an ungovernable France, providing fresh opportunities for RN in 2027.
Yet despite the party's fighting talk, Sunday's outcome was a clear setback.
Business newspaper Les Echos ran a front page showing a grim-faced Bardella with the headline "la claque" or "the slap".
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.
48 Comments
Banthu
The left and the globalists have always been one and the same.
People are waking up.
Express sister
lmao
Go fash, get smashed
sakurasuki
So, let's make France great again won't happen anytime soon?
2020hindsights
France for the French!
TokyoOldMan
Would not be surprised if Israel was behind the surprise sudden change in vote count in France. as elsewhere.
WoodyLee
""The projected result brought to a shuddering halt what had appeared to be the far right's relentless rise in France, carefully engineered by Le Pen who had sough to clean up her party's image and tap the grievances of voters angry over living costs, strained public services, and immigration.""
We have seen what the Far Right has done in Israel and else were, the French are well aware of that and they made their choice,
Congrtas. to Mr. Macron, his party, and his alliance.
wallace
The RN will come in third with 141-143 seats—no majority party.
Ah_so
I think that Jocelyn needs a lesson on how elections work, as she seems to have a basic misunderstanding.
Aly Rustom
Good to see that racist harpy get a political hiding.
Exactly! Well said Woody.
Toblerone
Delaying the inevitable. Check back in one year. Macron has calculated to keep himself in power. France is descending into rapid decline.
Yrral
Let Le Pen eat cake off her face
funkymofo
Ever noticed that the extreme right never lose, they’re always cheated out of victory by someone. We eagerly await the release of the Kraken. Lol
GuruMick
Aly above..."racist harpy "
Mate , that's delicious.
"Fair is foul, foul is fair
Hover through the fog
and filthy air "
Macbeth...3 witches scene.
wallace
Riots in Paris.
itsonlyrocknroll
The second round of these has condemned France to political and economic paralysis.
No political party has anywhere close to an overall majority, or any form of policy consensus in any proposed government.
France has now the most toxic hung parliament, hobbled and hamstrung by a far right and a rather gruesome hard left Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Jean-Luc Melenchon wasting no time to ferociously demand that his New Popular Front cobbled together some four weeks ago be afforded the powers, unfettered, to implement a manifesto reversing every policy that Macron enacted
All within a hung government with only a projected 180 to 215 seats in the National Assembly.
The question here, is can Macron centralists find any common political economic ground to work with Jean-Luc Melenchon disreputable disorganised mish mash. infested with extremists New Popular Front?
The new French government will be dependent on the global bond markets to borrow/finance to lower the retirement age, increase the minimum wage to finance a comprehensive social programme with a sovereign debt of €3.75 trillion
Bruce Pennyworth
Explain exactly how its far right if its just won general elections? That would indicate the new center
Ramsey's Kitchen
Fair enough, this is politics with its wheeling and dealing. The centre and left parties were able to make a deal to pull out and avoid their candidates competing against each other and stopped the RN rise. If only Japanese opposition were ever able to do that they would have a much better chance against the LDP here.
"It was undone to a large extent by tactical dealmaking between centrist and leftist opponents, who pulled more than 200 candidates from three-way races to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote"
Cards fan
A silly comment to make considering the 3rd place finish. Congrats :)
Nope. Not how that works.
dagon
France has already set itself apart as a nation where people can take to the streets and stop erosion of labor rights and social safety nets by neo-liberal and conservative forces in their tracks and guard living standards for the people in a rational way.
This was apparent before and after the COVID crisis. And Islamicization can be limited without far-right demagoguery.
https://www.politico.eu/article/france-legislative-election-2024-second-round-front-populaire-jean-luc-melenchon-raphael-glucksmann-shock-victory/
Vive la France!
Bob Fosse
Let the voters decide? Ok then. They decided. Now jog on.
2020hindsights
Banthu
What are globalists?
itsonlyrocknroll
Look be honest Le Pen RN was never going to get past the "horse trading" second round.
I am surprised RN achieved a projected 138 149 seats
It was undone to a large extent by tactical dealmaking between centrist and leftist opponents, who pulled more than 200 candidates from three-way races to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote.
RN has had a lucky escape, only a overall majority would be necessary for effective policy implementation.
New Popular Front consists of, to name but a few the hard-left France Unbowed, Communists, centre-left Socialists plus the Greens.
The chances of all politically economically agreeing if the light is on or off are close to zero.
RN will simply sit back and wait for the poo to hit the fan, and say "nothing to do with us guv".
Vote for this shamble, accept the inevitable consequences.
David Brent
Typical collusion by the left to stifle true democracy. The left hate democracy when they result doesn't go their way. My commiserations to the French people.
Express sister
Far-right poster: “Urgh, the left always whine when democracy doesn’t go their way! What babies!”
the far-right loses at the ballot box
Far-right poster: “Waaaah this isn’t fair it’s a fix!!! Israel and the left cheated by winning more votes waaaah”
Cheradenine Zakalwe
All things which neo-liberal and conservative and alt-right forces push, and which the left addresses with focused policies, sans the illogical xenophobia.
A triumph for French rationality!
Quo Primum
The leftist media can spin this however they want -- but the bottom line is that the so-called "far right" (otherwise known as "people who make sense") is rising in France and elsewhere in Europe.
Yes, it was probably unrealistic that the RN predicted or expected an outright majority; they shouldn't have done that.
But they have more seats than ever, and it took backdoor political scheming and "ganging up" by the opposition to keep the RN from a majority.
The "woke" parties of western Europe have made a grand mess of things, and the tide is turning toward (literally) the right side.
Sven Asai
That's just simply a scientific rule throughout all our universe. Rare things or events tend to clod together timely or locally. We wouldn't exist as a life form if not some organic materials would clod together. The rare use of atomic bombs, locally and timely clodded in 1945, as another example. And now back to this case here, the catastrophe of a big left wing win in the UK elections repeats shortly after in neighboring France. This rule is valid everywhere, so nothing is surprising here. Need more examples? A crime following a similar crime, an earthquake following an earthquake, a drawn lottery number just neighboring the next drawn number, and a beautiful woman walking on the street means that highly probably you'll see another beautiful woman nearby, to end the examples here with a much more positive one.
2020hindsights
David Brent
This was an example of collusion to ensure democracy works.
GBR48
Voters chose the Fifth Republic over a Fourth Reich, but the left and centre right have to get on together and make it work.
Plus Macron's lot have just lost two elections - the first to the right, the second to the left. What sort of mandate is that?
Whilst it is always nice to see nationalists lose, there may be too many egos and too few grown adults to maintain an anti-fascist alliance.
Moonraker
Like the Tories in the UK? Oh, wait a minute ... Dream on anyway. Well, you can always go and live in Russia if you wanna see where "the right" works corruptly and anti-democratically.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Look at those sad faces. It's almost like betraying your country to an aggressive and hostile foreign power is not popular.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Ya gonna be crying longer than that.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Defeated in the European Parliament, defeated in the UK, and defeated in France. I'm thinking Biden's chances are actually pretty good now.
ok1517
Good so!
We don't need another far right-wing (Putain supporting) government
And that's all "LePain" and her party stand for!
Just hoping my dear US friends will also come to senses and avoid Trump being the next POTUS!
Antiquesaving
Macron will have a near impossible task of getting his party elected officials to vote on even half the stuff the lead party will try passing.
New Popular Front's centre is more out there left than Macron's party left, so it will be interesting to see this function!
What I find more interesting is that after the first round the left took to the Streets clashing with police, setting fire, smashing businesses and banks, but it wasn't that big in the international news.
Now the RN supporters are doing the same and suddenly it is a major frontpage story!
It is things like this the make people question MSM these days!
2020hindsights
Funny how the populist pundits were saying just last week that this is proof of a global move to the right (even while the UK was moving left).
I guess they were wrong.
Far right policies are not popular.
Bob Fosse
They’re not ‘spinning’ losing into a win and babbling about rigged elections and deep state nonsense.
Your ‘people who make sense’ are crybabies.
Bad Haircut
Right-winger: Well, stuff happens, better luck next time. Very disappointed though, but the voters will get what they deserve.
Far-leftist: We didn't get what we want, so we'll smash stuff up and burn stuff down.
u_s__reamer
The French Left have headed the racist Right off at the polling pass so for the moment the danger of a French neo-fascist regime has been checked. Vive La Gauche!
Kabukilover
What is clear is that voters rejected the far right. So much for the not so for the popular front, so-called. .
Ramsey's Kitchen
Will be interesting to see whether and when this will happen. Saying rocky road is ahead for the Left / Centre coalition is an understatement.
"Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Insoumise party announced the newly elected government will recognize PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD 'as soon as possible.'"
Jimizo
Strange comment from someone who claims to be a Brit.
Remember the ‘collusion’ in the 2019 election when Farage stood down his candidates to help the right win a decent majority?
I remember it well. Not just the ‘left’ who ‘hate democracy’.
Anyway, good news this week in the UK and France.
I read some incredible predictions on the number of seats Reform would get in the UK. Needless to say it was stunningly over optimistic.
What the hell are these people reading or watching?
wallace
Where are those MAGA RN supporters who predicted an extreme right-wing win?
Mapped: Europe’s rapidly rising right
https://www.politico.eu/article/mapped-europe-far-right-government-power-politics-eu-italy-finalnd-hungary-parties-elections-polling/
Sh1mon M4sada
This ^ is what my friends and colleagues in France are saying, even before tge result came out. It's all a reaction to Le Pen's rhetoric. French people have always lean to the left, and enshrined workers rights. I can't imagine Le Pen ever being president.
Macron, unfortunately picked a lot of fights with voters in recent times. Sure, he's not eligible to run again, but that doesn't mean he xan burn bridges on his way out.
I see democracy functioning in France, ie no clear winner. C'est la vie.
wallace
France is for all the French.
Ramsey's Kitchen
"France is for all the French."
For sure, the French electorate has made its choice. No issues there. Will be interesting to see how this coalition will function.
wallace
What does the president of France have the power to appoint?
Article 8: The president of the republic shall appoint the prime minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the prime minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government. On the proposal of the prime minister, he shall appoint the other members of the Government and terminate their appointments.
garypen
30something percent is hardly "winning".