French president calls for countering far-right in snap polls

By Nur Asena Erturk

Not a single vote must go to the far-right in the second round of snap parliamentary elections later this week, the French president is said to have told his ministers on Monday, after Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party led the first round on Sunday.

“We should not be mistaken. It is the far-right that is on its way to access the highest functions, and nobody else,” Emmanuel Macron said in a meeting with members of the government, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Two ministers who attended the meeting told BFMTV that the atmosphere was tense, with tangible yet unspoken disagreements.

Another participant told the daily Le Figaro that “there was no clear line” to follow.

The daily Liberation reported that Macron, according to sources, said “not a single vote must go to the far-right,” but he did not give clear instructions about what his bloc's candidates should do for the next round on July 7.

The RN got 29.5% of the vote by itself -- a rate that rises over 33% when combined with its allies -- according to official results released by the Interior Ministry.

The party alone got more than 9.37 million votes, which gives the party 37 seats in parliament.

The left-wing alliance New Popular Front received 27.99% (over 8.9 million votes) and came in second with 32 seats.

The centrist Together for the Republic alliance backed by Macron ranked third with slightly over 20.04% (over 6.4 million votes), securing only two seats.

- Political calculations

Some candidates managed to be elected in the first round, but as the country gears up for the second round, political parties have started working on various solutions, mostly to counter the victorious RN.

Many candidates from the left-wing alliance and Macron’s centrist bloc said they would step down in the second round to make room for each other so that voters would have to decide between two candidates - either the RN candidate or another party.

These two blocs are hoping that the voters would disfavor the RN.

Macron had dissolved parliament and announced early elections after the RN swept more than 31% of the vote in European Parliament elections on June 9, defeating his centrist bloc.