Far right wins in first round of French elections
The far-right National Rally (RN) party in France has achieved a significant victory in the initial round of the country's snap parliamentary elections.
According to pollsters IFOP, Ipsos, OpinionWay, and Elabe, Marine Le Pen's RN secured approximately 34 percent of the vote. The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition garnered around 29 percent, while President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Ensemble alliance received about 20.5 percent.
This outcome places the RN in a potentially advantageous position to consider forming a government. However, various political forces have indicated they will collaborate to prevent the far-right party from succeeding in the second round of voting on July 7.
Macron had called for the snap election after the RN's strong performance in the recent European Parliament elections, betting that the party, known for its anti-immigration stance and historical ties to anti-Semitism, would not replicate its success on a national level.
In Henin-Beaumont, located in northern France, Le Pen's supporters celebrated by waving French flags and singing the national anthem, La Marseillaise.
'The French have shown their desire to move past a contemptuous and corrosive power,' Le Pen declared to the enthusiastic crowd.
RN President Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's protege and the party's candidate for prime minister, emphasized that the second round would be "the most significant in the history of the French Fifth Republic."
Pollster Elabe estimated for BFM TV that the RN and its allies could secure between 260 and 310 seats in parliament during the second voting round on July 7. Meanwhile, Ipsos projected a range of 230 to 280 seats for RN and its allies in a poll conducted for France TV.
Le Pen and Bardella have both stated that their party aims to achieve an absolute majority of 289 seats in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament.
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