The French parliamentary elections were held Sunday and delivered a surprising result for Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party. The RN won 89 seats, far beyond what would be needed (15 seats) to have a consequential impact in the assembly.
FRANCE – […] The results would severely tarnish Mr. Macron’s April presidential election victory where he defeated the far-right to be the first French president to win a second term in over two decades.
The expected number of seats for Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (90) amounts to a historic breakthrough. Only once under the Fifth Republic had the far right passed the threshold to form a group in the Assemblée (15 MPs), which allows for certain parliamentary resources and prerogatives.
The only time this happened was in 1986, when Ms. Le Pen’s father Jean-Marine Le Pen led a group of Front National MPs for two years. They were elected in the only ever legislative elections using proportional representation.
[…] Falling short of the majority forces Mr. Macron into tricky partnerships with other parties on the right to force through legislation. There could now potentially be weeks of political deadlock as the president seeks to reach out to new parties. The most likely option would be an alliance with Les Republicans LR.
[T]he number two of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, hailed her party’s performance as a “tsumani.” (read more)
“The Macron adventure has reached its end,” Le Pen said. The group of National Rally MPs “will be by far the biggest in the history of our political family.” As a result, RN will be able to easily form a parliamentary group, which allows for more influence and speaking time.
