French elections: Candidates pull out of race to prevent far-right majority

4 months ago 14

Two days after the far-right Rassemblement National secured a historic lead in the first round of the French legislative elections, 218 candidates, mainly from the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire and Macron’s Ensemble, announced they were pulling out of the race in a bid to prevent the far right from securing an absolute majority in Sunday’s final round.

These candidates who competed in the first round were all the lowest vote-getters among the top three who had secured a place in the second round on Sunday but would have had to compete against Rassemblement National (RN) candidates who had come first or second in the first round.

Dropping out of the race means voters will choose between the Rassemblement National candidate of their constituency and one other contender.

In the end, 218 candidates who came in third pulled out to prevent the far right from securing an absolute majority in the National Assembly, meaning that 88 candidates who came third remain.

While the candidates had until 6 pm on Tuesday to decide whether or not to withdraw, it remained unclear until the final hours how the Macron candidates would position themselves.

The official party line was blurred, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal saying that “no vote should go to the RN” but failing to give clear instructions about the leading left-wing candidate from the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party – which he claimed was just as “extreme” as the far-right.

This put the leaders of the centrist Ensemble coalition at odds over the best strategy, with some – including energy minister and political heavyweight Roland Lescure and Renew Europe president Valérie Hayer – publicly calling for an unequivocal anti-RN stance.

The right-wing conservative party Les Républicains did not issue any voting instructions and did not ask its third-placed candidates to withdraw.

Only the Nouveau Front Populaire made it clear that all its candidates would withdraw to reduce the RN’s chances and—in most cases—to help the pro-Macron candidate. Of the 218 who withdrew, 130 were from the left and only 82 from the Ensemble.

Estimates suggest the RN could win an outright majority of 289 seats out of 577 if no third-placed candidate withdrew. New polls now suggest that the far right could fall short, with 240-250 seats, and would therefore need additional support from sympathetic Conservatives.

However, polls must be interpreted cautiously, as voter behaviour in the second round is always complex.

RN leaders dismissed this wave of withdrawals as “contempt for the voters”, as party figurehead Marine Le Pen told French radio broadcaster France Inter.

(Laurent Geslin | Euractiv.fr)