France is Safe. For Now
A shock election result puts the left in the lead
A left-wing alliance became the largest force in the French parliament on Sunday after tactical voting kept the far right at bay, but the shape of the future government remained uncertain after no group won an outright majority.
The surprise result for the leftist New Popular Front — which won 182 seats, followed by President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance with 163 and the far right in third place with 143 seats — showed the strength of tactical voting against Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN). The far right and its allies had taken a commanding lead in the first round, but were ultimately held back by massive tactical voting that prevented them from winning enough seats to form a government.
Although the Left Alliance won the most seats, it fell more than 100 seats short of an absolute majority. With a high turnout of about 67%, no group won an absolute majority of 289 seats and the opportunity to form a government. The parliament is likely to be divided into three blocs: left, centrist and far-right.
