1st round parliament vote: Macron, Mélenchon parties neck and neck
The left and Macron's centrist coalition are head to head in the first round of elections.
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The French parliament (AFP)
Today, Sunday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Paris reported that the French left is slightly pulling ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French legislative elections.
"Macron has lost the majority, and he certainly needs to form coalitions in the parliament," our correspondent said.
According to figures published by the French Ministry of the Interior, after 64% of the votes were counted, Macron's party, "Ensemble!" and the left-wing NUPES alliance led by Jean-Luc Melenchon led the first round of the legislative elections with about 25% of the vote.
Read more: Macron a "Renaissance" man in the face of parliamentary elections
Four firms have predicted that Macron's alliance will win between 225 to 310 seats in the second vote on June 19. The leftist coalition, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was predicted to have 150-220 seats. To have a majority, Macron will need a minimum of 289 out of 577 seats.
Both groups, the centrists and the leftists, are at a tie, scoring 25-26% of the popular vote. However, fewer than half of registered voters have cast a ballot, entailing a low voter turnout, almost landing at 47%, with a record-low abstention rate between 52-53%.
Ce soir, malgré l’abstention, la #NUPES est la première force politique du pays. Nous serons au 2nd tour dans plus de 500 circonscriptions.
— Manuel Bompard (@mbompard) June 12, 2022
Dimanche prochain, si la jeunesse et les milieux populaires se mobilisent, #Melenchon peut être premier ministre !#VcommeVictoire !
Marine Le Pen, who heads the far-right National Rally, got 19% of the vote, which could land her coalition 10 to 45 seats, according to predictions.
Extreme-right Eric Zemmour, who takes pride in being compared to Trump, has failed in his bid to become an MP for the Saint-Tropez area on the French Riviera, coming third in the vote.
Mélenchon: 'The ruling party is defeated'
Mélenchon has just spoken, claiming Macron's camp has been "beaten and defeated." The leader of the Nupes coalition urged voters to "vote massively" in the second round on June 19, adding that his bloc would have candidates in "more than 500 constituencies."
🔴"Coming out of the first round of the #legislatives2022, the #NUPES is leading the charge. It will be leading the charge in 500 constituencies."
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) June 12, 2022
Watch the speech of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the NUPES coalition on @France24_en #legislatives2022: https://t.co/p2CFrlcnqg pic.twitter.com/ZdmqYb97Hx
A law-maker for the French left, Clementine Autain, has claimed huge success for the Nupes bloc.
"A few months ago, the left was supposed to be dead and the far right looked to be at the gates of power. Now we have turned the tables and topped the first round," she said. "Victory is possible," Autain said, estimating that the Nupes would grab around 480 of the total 577 seats next Sunday.
