The President's En Marche party is expected to take 32.2% of the vote in the first round
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French President Emmanuel Macron is on course to win a second landslide victory, this time in parliamentary elections. A month ago his party, La République En Marche, had not a single MP to its name, but as the first round of voting drew to a close, that looked set to change dramatically.
En Marche has taken nearly one-third of the vote (32.2%) in the first round, enough to propel most of its candidates through to the next stage.
Closest rivals Les Républicains are predicted to poll 21.5%, with the socialists trailing miserably at 10.2%.
En Marche needs a minimum of 289 of the 577 National Assembly seats to push its programme through.
French legislative elections (R1): Macron in a strong position to enact his pro-business agenda https://t.co/z9StmmZ6kX #forex #fx pic.twitter.com/2GbnZSwPny
— TradeWell (@TradeWell6) June 11, 2017
Pollsters are predicting that it will win between 390 and 430 seats in the second round next week. But with an abstention rate of about 50% Macron’s critics have been quick to question the strength of the public’s enthusiam for their new President’s agenda.
Barely 50% participated in French legislative elections today. Puts things into perspective – British democracy is healthy indeed
— Charlotte Kude (@CharlotteKude) June 11, 2017
Reacting to the results, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said:
“France is back. For a month now, the President has been a symbol of confidence, drive and audacity, both in France and on the international stage… In the large abstentions seen this Sunday, I see the consequences of the standing down of certain political parties, which have been unable to regroup after losing the presidential election. I also see the effect of the demobilisation of a section of the electorate, for whom the election of the President represented the conclusion of the debate.”
With abstentions running at 50% in the first round, En Marche is taking nothing for granted, however, urging voters to turn out in droves to support its candidates next week.