In bid to build anti-right French front, 218 withdrew from elections
3 Min Read
As of 5:50 pm on Tuesday, Le Monde announced 218 withdrawals, which include 130 from the left and 82 from the Macron camp and the center.
-
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses for a selfie on Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Henin-Beaumont, northern France. (AP)
More candidates decided to withdraw from this weekend's run-off election in order to prevent the anti-RN vote from splitting, strengthening the opponents' efforts to block Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) from power in France on Tuesday.
The initial number of withdrawals was 200 candidates from the race for France's 577-seat national assembly, confirming that they would not run in the second round of voting on Sunday, according to local media estimates.
However, as of 5:50 pm on Tuesday, Le Monde announced 218 withdrawals, which include 130 from the left and 82 from the Macron camp and the center.
Read more: Explainer: How do French parliamentary elections work?
The first secretary of the Socialist party, Olivier Faure, called next Sunday a "decisive" day for France as he addressed citizens who did not vote for the left in the first round.
Faure expressed respecting their views and said he knows it’s difficult.
Dimanche prochain sera un jour décisif pour notre démocratie. Le 7 juillet, tous les démocrates doivent se retrouver pour préserver l’esprit des Lumières, de la Révolution française et de la République. Et ouvrir un espoir, celui du #NFP.
— Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) July 2, 2024
Mon appel pour le second tour ✊ pic.twitter.com/3layw3EKSD
Macron's ally and president of Renew Europe, Valérie Hayer, applauded several politicians for announcing their withdrawals from the race before Sunday's second round of voting.
Je salue les décisions de @SLefoulon, @vsaulnier53200 et @Boisseau53G. En Mayenne, comme ailleurs, le front républicain doit opérer pour faire barrage à l'extrême droite et à son projet mortifère.
— Valérie Hayer (@ValerieHayer) July 2, 2024
Par delà les sensibilités et divergences politiques, la priorité est de protéger…
One of the candidates, Patricia Miralles, secretary of state for Veterans and Remembrance, announced her withdrawal on X.
J’ai eu l’espoir jusqu’à maintenant que le candidat arrivé en seconde position m’appelle.
— Patricia Miralles (@MIRALLESMP) July 2, 2024
Qui a pu avoir un instant le doute que nous n’étions pas républicains ?
Pour nos militants, nos électeurs et la France, avec @ph_sorez nous retirons notre candidature.
Just yesterday, the National Rally's far-right parliamentary candidate, Marine Le Pen, said to France Inter that she would not want to become part of the government if Jordan Bardella assumes the role of prime minister, out of respect for his role.
“It is evident that we cannot accept to go to government if we cannot act,” Le Pen said regarding the National Rally's attempt to form a government should it not secure a majority in the national assembly.
"We wish to govern," she emphasized prior to the second round of the legislative elections.
For context, National Rally Vice-President Sebastien Chenu stated earlier that the National Rally party, which emerged victorious in the first round of the parliamentary elections, is prepared to nominate Bardella as prime minister. This move would occur even without an absolute majority in parliament, provided they secure sufficient support from other lawmakers.
"If support [in parliament] can indeed be found, we will assume our responsibility to the French people," National Rally Vice-President Sebastien Chenu told the France 2 broadcaster following the party's parliamentary win in the first round, adding that his party could receive support from lawmakers from other parties, who "might want the National Assembly not to be blocked."
