French Elections: Left alliance foils Le Pen's ambitions but 2-phase polls leave country in political limbo

The left-wing alliance in France made a major comeback after it won the most seats in the French parliament thwarting the hopes of the country’s far-right. In the second round of voting in the French snap polls, the New Popular Front (NFP) – a cluster of several parties ranging from the far-left to the more moderate Socialists and the Ecologists – won the most seats leaving Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) Party down to crumble.

However, the results from the second phase of polling also left France in a political limbo after none of the parties contesting the elections came close to winning an absolute majority. Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the country’s National Assembly and called for a snap election after his party gave a deplorable performance in the European Union Parliamentary elections.

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After the second phase of voting, the NFP won 182 seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest group in the French parliament, Le Monde reported. However, it fell short of reaching the 289 figure to form a government with an absolute majority.

Le Pen celebrated too early 

Meanwhile, Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance made a strong recovery in the second phase of voting and managed to win 163 seats. Despite leading in the first phase of the polls, Le Pen’s RN and its allies won 143 seats, making an abysmal fall in the second phase.

The RN’s strong performance in the first round stirred concerns that France might end up electing its first far-right government since the collaborationist Vichy regime of World War II. The fear was so severe that by Tuesday last week, more than 200 centrist and left-wing candidates withdrew from the second round, in a bid to avoid splitting the vote.

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As soon as the early projections started pouring in National Rally’s PM hopeful Jordan Bardella condemned the results and said that France had been thrown into “uncertainty and instability.” Disappointed by the results, the 28-year-old slammed NFP and accused the alliance of “dishonour”.

“As from tomorrow, our deputies will take up their places to make sure we counter the migration policies and other policies of the far left. We will not enter into any kind of coalition or compromise, we will be on the side of the French people,” he said.

PM Attal to tender resignation

Following the results of the second phase of voting, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced that he would submit his resignation to Macron on Monday morning. He said that he would step aside in accordance with his “principles”.

While announcing his decision at a press conference, the French premier acknowledged that it was an “unprecedented political situation” that would plunge many people into uncertainty. Attal made it clear that he does not want to see the nation “divided into three blocs. That is not France, it is not the politics of the French people.”

“As from tomorrow, we have to work towards a new political deal which will involve all the French with clear values and guarantee a union and never yield to division. We must, in all this, preserve our humanity, guarantee our security, be by the side of those who believe in France,” Attal averred.

While France managed to save itself from the clutches of the far-right, the results from the two phases left the country in a political deadlock.

With inputs from agencies.