Macron calls for solidarity against RN
After the first round of the parliamentary election, RN leader Bardella is determined to become "Premier Minister of all the French" within a week. On the other hand, the penalized President Macron hopes for a broad front against the Right National Rally. The Left plans to withdraw some of their candidates.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a union against the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) following the publication of the first round results of the French parliamentary election from the Elysee Palace. It's time for a great, clear democratic and republican union against this party led by Marine Le Pen, it was stated immediately after the release of the first round results.
Marine Le Pen, the former RN leader, welcomed the outcome of the first round of the parliamentary election. The Macron block is "practically erased," Le Pen said in her first reaction. The French have shown their will to turn the page on seven years of contemptuous and destructive power by Macron. Le Pen, who was elected in her constituency in the north in the first round, also called on the French to give the RN an absolute majority in the second round. In politics, nothing is more common than a power shift, Le Pen said. She warned against false alarm regarding her party.
Bardella wants to be "Premier of all French"
The RN leader, Jordan Bardella, intends to form a government with an absolute majority in parliament as Prime Minister. "If voters help us to an absolute majority on the coming Sunday to rebuild the country, I want to be the Prime Minister of all the French," Bardella said after his party's strong performance in the pre-term parliamentary election.
"By putting their candidates and allies at the head, the French have awakened an unprecedented hope in the country. I call on them for a final effort," said the 28-year-old. "I call on all French people to join me to win the national unity against those who trample on our values," Bardella added.
The second round of the parliamentary election will be one of the decisive ones in the younger history of France. There are two possibilities, the Left Bloc, the "Alliance of the Worst, which will lead us into ruin," Bardella said. On the other hand, the Rassemblement National will restore security and defend work.
"Seven days to prevent a disaster"
The leading French socialist Raphael Glucksmann is calling for a decisive fight against the Right National in the second round. "We have seven days to prevent a disaster for France," Glucksmann said. "This is no longer a parliamentary election, it's a referendum. Do we want the far-right to gain power for the first time in our history through the ballot boxes?"
Glucksmann, who was the leading French socialist candidate in the European election, said that it's no longer about political allegiances. Wherever candidates of the common Left Bloc finished in third place, their candidacy will be withdrawn. And then, we will call on people to vote for the person in the constituency who can beat Marine Le Pen's RN candidate.
Glucksmann assured there would be no hesitation from the left side. "The only goal of the week is to block it in order to prevent an absolute majority of the Rassemblement National." Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the founder of the French Left Party, expressed similarly. "Our instruction is clear: not a single vote more for the RN," he said.
The Rassemblement National could become the strongest force in the French National Assembly. According to calculations, it and its allies finished in the first round of the advanced parliamentary election in France with 34-34.2% in the lead. The centrist bloc of Macron came in third place with 20.3-21.5%. However, the number of seats each block will receive in the National Assembly will only be decided in the second round elections on July 7. Frequently, local alliances are formed in France before the second round, which can change the election outcome.
- In response to the strong performance of the Rassemblement National in the parliamentary election, President Emmanuel Macron urged a united front against Marine Le Pen's party, emphasizing the importance of preventing a far-right gain of power in France.
- Recognizing the significant lead of the RN in the first round, Emmanuel Macron's political adversary, Raphael Glucksmann, urged the Left to withdraw their candidates in certain constituencies where the RN candidate was likely to win, urging voters to choose the candidate most likely to defeat the RN candidate in the name of preventing a far-right stronghold.
- As the Right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, closed in on an absolute majority in the French National Assembly following the first round of the parliamentary election, progressive political party leaders like Jean-Luc Mélenchon pledged their support for a "not a single vote more for the RN" strategy, stressing the need to prevent the RN from gaining a strong foothold in France's political landscape.
