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France goes to polls as far right eyes historic win
June 29, 2024
Article Body Text<p>Voting got underway in France's overseas territories Saturday in high-stakes snap parliamentary elections that could see the far-right party of Marine Le Pen take power for the first time. </p> <p>Residents of the tiny French archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Canada, were the first to cast their ballots in the first round of the election. </p> <p>France's islands in the Caribbean and the South American territory of French Guiana also voted Saturday. </p> <p>And polling stations in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, hit by deadly riots last month, opened at 10 p.m. Paris time (2000 GMT). Voting in mainland France starts Sunday. </p> <p>Support for the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic National Rally (RN) party has surged despite President Emmanuel Macron's pledges to prevent its ascent. </p> <p>Most polls put the National Rally on course to win the largest number of seats in the 577-member National Assembly, parliament's lower house. But it remains unclear if the party will secure an outright majority. </p> <p>A high turnout is predicted, and the final opinion polls have given the RN between 35% and 37% of the vote, against 27.5-29% for the left-wing New Popular Front alliance and 20-21% for Macron's centrist camp. </p> <p>Campaigning ended at Friday midnight. Candidates cannot speak publicly — nor can any polls be published — until Sunday evening when voting has finished. </p> <p>If the RN obtains an absolute majority, party chief Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's 28-year-old protege with no governing experience, could become prime minister in a tense "cohabitation" with Macron. </p> <p>The shape of the new parliament will become clear after the second round of voting on July 7. </p> <p><strong>Political 'impasse' </strong></p> <p>Wielding mops and buckets, several activists of the Femen feminist collective dressed as cleaners on Saturday demonstrated at the Trocadero in Paris, chanting slogans against the extreme right. </p> <p>Separately, tens thousands of people joined an LGBTQ+ Pride march in Paris, with some carrying placards targeting the far-right. </p> <p>"I think it's even more important right now to fight against hatred in general, in all its forms," said 19-year-old student Themis Hallin-Mallet. </p> <p>Once the first-round results are in, Macron plans to convene a government meeting to decide how to respond to the situation, government sources told AFP. </p> <p>France is heading for a year of political chaos and confusion with a hung Assembly, said Mujtaba Rahman, Europe head at Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy. </p> <p>"There is no precedent in recent French politics for such an impasse," Rahman said. </p> <p>Macron's decision to call snap elections after the RN's victory in European Parliament elections this month stunned friends and foes alike and sparked uncertainty in Europe's second-biggest economy. </p> <p>The Paris stock exchange suffered its biggest monthly decline in two years in June, dropping by 6.4%, according to figures released Friday. </p> <p>In an editorial, French daily <em>Le Monde </em>said it was time to mobilize against the far right. </p> <p>"Yielding any power to it means nothing less than taking the risk of seeing everything that has been built and conquered over more than two and a half centuries gradually being undone," it said. </p> <p><strong>'Victory is within grasp' </strong></p> <p>Many observers have noted a spike in hate speech, intolerance and racism during the charged campaign. A video of two RN supporters verbally assaulting a black woman has gone viral in recent days. </p> <p>Macron has deplored "racism or anti-Semitism." </p> <p>The French president apparently hoped to catch political opponents off-guard by presenting voters with a crucial choice about France's future, but observers say he might have lost his gamble. </p> <p>Support for Macron's centrist camp appears to have collapsed, while left-wing parties put their bickering aside to form the New Popular Front, a nod to an alliance founded in 1936 to combat fascism. </p> <p>Analysts say Le Pen's yearslong efforts to clean up the image of a party co-founded by a former Waffen SS member have paid off. The party has promised to bolster purchasing power, curb immigration, and boost law and order. </p> <p>"Victory is within our grasp, so let's seize this historic opportunity and get out and vote!" Le Pen wrote on X Friday. </p> <p>Under Macron, France has been one of Ukraine's main Western backers since Russia invaded in 2022. </p> <p>But Le Pen and Bardella have said they would scale down French support for Ukraine, by ruling out the deployment of ground troops and long-range missiles. </p> <p>A defiant Macron has stood by his decision to call the elections, while warning voters that a win by the far right or hard left could spark a "civil war." </p> <p>He has insisted he will serve out the remainder of his second term until 2027, no matter which party wins. </p>
Content TypeText
LanguageEnglish
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJune 29, 2024 18:21 EDT
BylineAgence France-Presse
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
