By V. E. K. Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Nation Awaits Outcome Amidst Heightened Tensions and Political Uncertainty.
France’s rushed and sometimes violent election campaign has come to an end with stark appeals from political leaders ahead of Sunday’s pivotal vote.
Centrist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned that a far right government would “unleash hatred and violence.” Conversely, Jordan Bardella, the leader of the National Rally (RN), accused his rivals of immoral, anti democratic behavior and urged voters to mobilize and give him an outright majority.
In the first round of parliamentary elections last Sunday, one in three French voters backed the RN. The upcoming vote will determine whether France will have its first far right government in modern times or face political deadlock. Regardless of the outcome, voters anticipate turmoil.
Due to the tense climate, 30,000 extra police officers are being deployed. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reported that 51 candidates, their deputies, or party activists had been physically attacked. In one incident, an extremist network published a list of almost 100 lawyers for elimination after they signed an open letter against the RN.
President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call the election less than a month ago came as a shock, and the consequences remain unknown. Discussions among voters often reveal palpable tension. For example, Kaltoun, who lives in a town bordering Belgium where the RN won the first round, feels increasingly uncomfortable, as she and her daughter face more frequent hostile remarks or looks with each election.
In nearby Tourcoing, Darmanin is facing a strong challenge from a far right candidate who was just 800 votes behind him last Sunday. In the 500 seats being decided by run off votes, 217 candidates from the left wing New Popular Front and the Macron Ensemble alliance have withdrawn to block the RN from winning. Although dozens of three way races are still proceeding, 409 seats will now be decided by one on one contests.
After the first round, some opinion polls suggested the RN had a chance of winning an outright majority in the National Assembly. However, the final polls indicate this is unlikely. While RN leader Marine Le Pen believes her party still has a serious chance of securing the 289 seats needed to control the Assembly, pollsters estimate about 200 seats as a more realistic outcome.
A significant poll released just before the end of the campaign suggested that the awkward series of withdrawals by third placed left wing and centrist candidates had succeeded in diminishing the hopes of RN boss Marine Le Pen’s protégé of becoming prime minister at age 28. Bardella criticized what he called the birth of a single Mélenchon Macron party formed solely to prevent his victory.
The Popular Front, consisting of Socialists, Greens, and Communists, is led by radical firebrand Jean Luc Mélenchon. Despite being widely condemned by his rivals as an extremist, Mélenchon is certainly not an ally of President Macron. Despite their agreement to oppose the far right, there is considerable animosity between the two camps.
“You don’t beat the far right with the far left,” Interior Minister Darmanin said, even though a France Unbowed candidate had withdrawn to help him win. The Macron centrists are third in the polls, trailing the Popular Front and the RN. Marc from Tourcoing expressed his discontent with Macron’s presidency and the economic disparity, saying, “In France, we’re fed up with Macron, and I’m more in the center. The cost of living is bad, and the rich have become richer while the poor are poorer.”
National Rally has focused its campaign on media appearances by Bardella and Le Pen, with allegations of “phantom candidates” who have made little effort to campaign in some areas. For instance, Élodie Babin in Orléans qualified for the second round with minimal campaigning, later citing illness as the reason.
The RN is particularly popular in rural areas. In Mennecy, south of Paris, Popular Front candidate Mathieu Hillaire held his final campaign event. He faces RN candidate Nathalie Da Conceicao Carvalho after the pro Macron candidate withdrew to improve Hillaire’s chances of blocking the far right. While the local climate is less tense than elsewhere, Hillaire noted that many voters are still worried, “Of the voters that I’ve met, there are many who are scared of Jordan Bardella.”
Many of RN’s policies focus on reducing the cost of living and addressing law and order, but their anti immigration plans have raised significant concerns. The RN aims to prioritize French citizens over immigrants for jobs and housing, abolish automatic French citizenship for children of foreign parents who have lived in France for at least five years, and bar dual citizens from sensitive jobs.
Prime Minister Attal highlighted the “uncertainty and worry” among the French people. He noted that his party had averted the risk of Mélenchon winning a majority in the first round, but now faced the threat of a far right government whose policies would “unleash hatred and violence” and harm the French economy.
However, if there is deadlock on Sunday night and no clear path to forming a government, France might face uncertainty as it hosts the Olympic Games in just 20 days. Attal, who had previously suggested his minority government might remain “as long as necessary,” was more vague on Friday night, “Next week I don’t know what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be doing it, but I know who I’ll be doing it for, the people of France, that’s all that counts for me.”
