French left wing says it has mandate to govern after surprise win

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) said it has a mandate to govern after it pulled off a surprise win the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday, with the far right falling to third place, according to initial projections.

The NFP, a new alliance that has brought together Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s hard-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, The Ecologists and several smaller left-leaning groups, is projected to gain 172 to 215 of the 577 seats in the lower house, or National Assembly, broadcasters TF1 and France 2 predicted after polls closed on Sunday.

"The president has a duty to call on the New Popular Front to govern," Jean-Luc Mélenchon said after the first projections were published on Sunday evening showing his alliance on top.

He called on Prime Minister Gabriel Attal from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp to go, and not long after his wish seemed to be fulfilled when Attal said he would tender his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.

Macron should concede defeat, Mélenchon said, while ruling out negotiations on a merger with Macron's Ensemble (Together) camp.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, also said there should be no "coalition of opposites" that continues Macron's policies, while Green Party leader Marine Tondelier said it was a clear win for the NFP. "We have won and now we will govern," she asserted in Paris.

"Tonight social justice has won, tonight ecological justice has won and tonight the people have won and now it's just getting started," Tondelier said.

But the arithmetic is not on the NFP's side, or indeed on any camp's: Macron's centrist alliance came second and is projected to win 150-180 seats, down from 245; The far-right National Rally party, which came out on top after the first round, fell to third place, and is expected to take 120-152 seats. If the projections are correct, no camp is likely, therefore, to achieve an absolute majority of 289 seats.

At 67.5%, voter turnout was significantly higher than in previous years.

France's divided left only united a few weeks ago to form the NFP for the snap parliamentary elections. There is a dispute within the left, particularly over Mélenchon's leadership.

The populist, who stands out with his Eurosceptic statements and is clearly pro-Palestinian, is heavily criticized even within his own party.

The left-wing alliance does not have a clear leadership, nor does it have a common programme.

National Rally suffered from a coordinated campaign by the second and third-placed groups in the first round, who did a deal in some 200 seats to put forward one candidate in the hopes of keeping the far-right candidate out.

The ploy worked, leaving National Rally leader Jordan Bardella incandescent with rage. He lashed out at Macron's centrist camp and the NFP as a "single party" and an "alliance of dishonour."

Bardella railed against "electoral agreements" that "have plunged France into the arms of Jean-Luc Mélenchon," the hard-left leader.

"The momentum carried by the RN, which put it well ahead in the first round and enabled it to double its number of deputies, are essential elements of tomorrow's victory," Bardella said.

Macron's office said the president is focusing on forming a government. Before making any decisions, the head of state will await the final results of the election and the final composition of the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, the Élysée Palace announced.

"In his role as guarantor of our institutions, the president will ensure that the sovereign choice of the French people is respected," it said.

The Élysée Palace also stated that the number of lawmakers required for an absolute majority would have to be reached, BFMTV reported. "The question will be whether a coalition with cohesion can be formed to reach the 289 deputies" in the 577-seat chamber.

In view of the expected election result with Macron's centrist alliance in second place, the Élysée Palace explained: "The centre camp had been declared dead: but it is there, even after seven years in power."

If confirmed, the result gives rise to various future scenarios: The left could try to gain support from the centrist forces - either as a minority government under a confidence-and-supply arrangement with other parties or in a kind of grand coalition. In view of the opposing political orientations, however, it is not clear whether this could succeed.

It is unclear whether Macron would be politically forced to appoint a prime minister from the ranks of the left in such a scenario. The National Assembly has the power to topple the government.

With a prime minister from the left, Macron would have to share power under an arrangement known in France as cohabitation. The prime minister would become more important.

Should none of the camps find a governing majority, the current government could remain in office as a transitional government or a government of technocrats could be appointed. In such a scenario, France would be threatened with political gridlock.

In view of the Olympic Games, which are due to begin in Paris on July 26, it is also possible that Attal's government will remain in office for a few more weeks.

Boosted by general dissatisfaction with the Macron administration, National Rally topped the European Parliament elections in June with 31.36% of the vote, leading Macron to call the snap parliamentary polls.

There are more than two years to go until the next round of presidential elections in 2027, which Le Pen is favoured to win. Macron cannot run again.