Le Pen’s far-right party wins first round as Macron’s snap elections gamble backfires

Benjamin DODMAN
·2-min read

Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant National Rally led a first round of voting on Sunday in exceptionally high-stakes elections that could put France’s government in the hands of a far-right party for the first time since World War II. President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling coalition was beaten into third place by a fledgling alliance of the left as the incumbent’s gamble with a snap election backfired spectacularly.

Three weeks after trouncing its rivals in low-turnout European polls, Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) confirmed its status as France’s leading political force in a first round of legislative elections marked by the highest turnout in three decades.

Le Pen’s camp secured a clear victory, albeit not a decisive one, meaning the vote’s ultimate outcome remains uncertain ahead of a second round of voting on July 7. Macron, whose decision to call the snap election had stunned friends and foes alike, has urged voters to rally against the far right next Sunday.

RN and its allies on the right took 33.2% of the first-round vote, ahead of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) on 28.1%, according to projections by pollsters Ipsos-Talan. Macron’s Ensemble alliance trailed in third place with 21%, followed by the conservative Les Républicains and their partners on 10%.

The sudden prospect of a far-right government succeeded in reuniting France’s bitterly fractured left – with a speed that caught the Élysée Palace off guard.


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
How Bolloré, the ‘French Murdoch’, carried Le Pen’s far right to the brink of power
‘Love France or leave it’: the small-town voters driving support for Le Pen’s far right
How France’s far right changed the debate on immigration

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Victory no certainty for Marine Le Pen as France faces second vote

    There is no doubt that the outcome of the first round of voting in France’s general election is a huge slap in the face for Emmanuel Macron.

  • Sterling loses ground to euro after French election first round

    The pound slipped against the euro on Monday as the single currency rallied on investor expectations that France's far right party might not secure an outright majority after winning the first round of a national election. The euro was up 0.27% against the pound at 84.97 pence, climbing further away from a two-year low of 83.97 pence hit in mid-June. Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National (RN) won the most votes in the first round of France's parliamentary election on Sunday, with President Emmanuel Macron's grouping in third place behind a left-wing coalition.

  • Jacqueline de Jong, influential avant garde artist, dies at 85

    Born in 1939, De Jong had a six-decade career devoted to asking questions, and her art ranged from abstract to figurative and back again

  • The Daily T: How Le Pen humiliated Macron

    Mon Dieu. Emmanuel Macron’s gamble to call a snap general election after poor results in the European elections last month looks to have backfired, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally trouncing the President’s centrist coalition in the first round of voting in France. Kamal and Camilla talk to The Telegraph’s Paris Correspondent Henry Samuel to find out what it means ahead of the final round of voting at the weekend. With France heading for uncharted territory, could it end in a chaoti

  • Police meet families as part of inquiry into human ashes found at Hull funeral home

    Thirty-five bodies recovered in March from company’s premises, along with ashes of unknown number of people

  • Far Right’s Surge in France Lays Bare Deep Divisions

    PARIS — For many, France feels like a very different place on Monday. The results from the first round of legislative elections, held on Sunday, revealed a country deeply fractured, with a surging far right winning a record number of votes and the near collapse of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. “The far right at power’s door,” the cover of Le Parisien, a daily newspaper, pronounced the morning after the first half of the snap election called by Macron. Sign up for The Morning newsle

  • Two men in critical condition after Queensland bus crash that killed three

    A Greyhound coach carrying 33 people collided with a four-wheel drive towing a caravan near Gumlu, north of Bowen

  • Russia says it takes over two villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region

    Russian forces have taken over the villages of Spirne and Novooleksandrivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday. The ministry, in a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app, said its forces have also improved their positions along the frontline around the villages. Spirne is located in the east of the Donetsk region, close to the border with Ukraine's Luhansk region.

  • Explainer-Three-way run-offs and horse-trading: what happens next in French elections?

    PARIS (Reuters) -Here's how the second round of France's parliamentary election on July 7 will work and the possible scenarios after official results showed Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party had won Sunday's first round. Elections for the 577 seats in France's National Assembly are a two-round process. In constituencies where no candidate won outright in the first round, the top two candidates, as well as any candidate with more than 12.5% of the total number of registered voters in that constituency, move to a second round.

  • Vicky Pattison seen in hospital bed amid emergency A&E dash after being left 'unable to move'

    The former reality star took to social media with concerning snaps as she was seen sobbing in a hospital bed while connected to a drip

  • Treasuries Get Hit as US Election Risks in Focus: Markets Wrap

    (Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest bond market got hit as traders weighed the potential economic implications of the November US election after last week’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.Most Read from BloombergDemocrats Weigh Mid-July Vote to Formally Tap Biden as NomineeTrump Immunity Ruling Means Any Trial Before Election UnlikelyBeryl Becomes Earliest Ever Category 5 Hurricane in Atlantic‘Upflation’ Is the Latest Retail Trend Driving Up Prices for US ConsumersTrump Is

  • UK weather: What's the forecast for July?

    Currently we're looking at rather changeable conditions with temperatures a little below average for the time of year although the South will be pleasantly warm at times. The middle of the week will bring some rather wet and windy weather and temperatures will nudge up a little ahead of the weekend.

  • Life-threatening Hurricane Beryl closes in on Caribbean as strongest ever storm this early in season

    Beryl is the earliest category 3 hurricane on record in the Atlantic and the first ever in June

  • How a far-right French government could affect small boats crossings in the Channel

    France is one step closer to a far-right government following National Rally's success in the first round of elections – but what does this mean for the UK?

  • Starmer’s worst blunder should disqualify him as prime minister

    The single biggest thing that happened over the last Parliament was the Covid crisis. It had an immeasurable impact on our economy and society. And Labour’s record in that period, especially during 2021, was appalling. Indeed it was sufficiently bad that at the time many people said Starmer’s errors ruled him out of any possible future as Prime Minister.

  • 'Very Bad News' For Trump: Lawrence O'Donnell Says Ruling Could Backfire Quickly

    The MSNBC host revealed how the former president's case could be back in court sooner than anyone realizes.

  • Harvard Law Professor Delivers Chilling Prediction After Trump Immunity Ruling

    Laurence Tribe explained what the Supreme Court decision means in "practical purposes" and it's "devastating."

  • Tories narrow gap to Labour in poll as Sunak says election result not ‘foregone conclusion'

    Poll shows the Conservatives have closed their gap behind Labour to 15 points, the smallest lead for Sir Keir Starmer’s party for a month

  • Trump amplifies posts calling for televised military tribunal for Liz Cheney

    Former President Donald Trump amplified posts on social media calling for a televised military tribunal for former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and the jailing of top elected officials, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

  • If Keir Starmer wins on Thursday, I warn you not to be middle-class

    Thank goodness it’s nearly over. Six weeks of half truths, obfuscation, false hopes and downright lies delivered by tieless, shirt-sleeved leaders in a variety of factories, building sites or sports grounds in front of audiences made up principally of party activists clad in hi-vis jackets. Apart from Ed Davey, that is, who has preferred to campaign in theme parks.