The left-wing New Popular Front coalition won the largest share of seats in the second round of French parliamentary elections.
However, none of the three major contenders took an absolute majority, setting the stage for political gridlock in France moving forward.
France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal gives a speech following the first results of the second round of France's legislative election at Matignon in Paris on July 7, 2024. Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP
Speaking to a crowd of supporters as results began to come in, left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melanchon called the results “a considerable victory.”
Melanchon chalked the victory up to “a political stance that let us rally the people.”
The left-wing coalition was the result of a last minute political alliance thrown together on June 10 following the National Rally victory in European Parliament elections. It includes most of France’s major left-wing parties.
Early projections from the second round of balloting, which will determine the composition of the National Assembly for the rest of French President Emmanuel Macron’s term in office, show that Macron’s centrist coalition is trailing the left, with the National Rally on track to come in third.
Following the results, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal—the leader of Macron’s faction in the National Assembly—announced that he would resign.
Macron said he will “wait for the new National Assembly to organize itself” before making any decisions on the new government.
The National Assembly is scheduled to gather in full session for the first time on July 18. The statement says Macron will ensure the “sovereign choice of the French people will be respected.”
During the first round of voting last week, Marine Le Pen’s right-wing populist National Rally Party seemed poised to potentially take a majority of seats in the French parliament, leading in more than half of all districts during the first round.
Following the first round results, both left-wing and centrist coalitions banded together in an effort to defeat the right, with more than 200 third-place centrist and left-wing candidates withdrawing from the runoff to consolidate the anti-right vote.
However, projections still indicate that the right will walk away from the election with its largest share of seats ever in the National Assembly.
Speaking about the results, Jordan Bardella—Le Pen’s 28-year-old political protegé who would have become prime minister had his party won—said that his party was “ready to assume its responsibilities” as one of the three major blocs in the National Assembly.
Bardella denounced the political maneuvering that led the National Rally to fall far short of expectations.
“We don’t want power for power’s sake,” Bardella insisted.
He said that he and his party’s “intention for the true recovery of the country is stronger than ever,” vowing, “I will be there, for you, with you, until victory.”
Le Pen has already faced off against Macron in the past two French presidential elections, and she is currently favored by many as the frontrunner for the 2027 French presidential election.
While final results have yet to come in, the prospect of a divided parliament with no single majority leaves many question marks on French governance moving forward.
—Joseph Lord
McCONNELL SUCCESSION RACE
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) is in the lead to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate Republican leader, but that could change as support grows among a handful of notoriously independent GOP senators for term limits and other reforms in how their conference is led.
Thune has two announced rivals, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former Senate majority whip under McConnell, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who challenged and lost to the Kentucky Republican in 2022.
Thune enjoys the advantages of incumbency, having served as second-in-command to Mr. McConnell for more than four years, with the unofficial but hugely significant backing of the McConnell machine.
Cornyn represents a middle ground between the establishment Republican wing of the GOP and the more free-wheeling, populist approach favored by Scott and other conservatives like Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
This divide comes as Lee and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) are sparring over possible limits on the leader—most notably in the issue of term limits. But the populist wing of the upper chamber is interested in an array of changes that would weaken the power of the leader and increase the power of the conference.
Such changes, Tillis said in a letter, “would be counterproductive.”
“Having term limits on the leader could make the political side of the job more difficult,” Tillis argued.
Lee shot back that term limits are “a long-overdue reform that would allow future talent to rise within the Republican conference.”
The issue is particularly prescient as, should the new leader follow McConnell’s example, he could be in the top spot for over a decade.
In a March 5 social media post, Cornyn announced that he would back term-limits—an announcement that came after a meeting with Lee and company.
This potentially puts him in a good position to both rake in some of the populist wing that would otherwise back Scott, while his leadership bona fides put him in a good condition to win over moderates that would otherwise back Thune.
Scott is widely expected to lose his bid to become leader in the more moderate upper chamber.
Cornyn’s success—or Thune’s—could depend also on the wildcard in the race: Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.).
Though he hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, the Montana Republican, who serves as chairman of the Republican senatorial campaign arm, could find himself in a strong position to take the lead should he substantially increase the Republican majority this cycle.
There are 49 Republicans in the Senate, and most observers expect them to gain at least two more seats in November to regain the majority.
But if Republicans gain significantly more seats, perhaps even as many as five, such success could thrust Daines into a strongly independent position.
—Mark Tapscott and Joseph Lord
BOOKMARKS
House Republicans plan on opening an investigation into White House physician Kevin O’Connor, Politico reported. The investigation, spearheaded by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), comes amid heightened concerns about President Joe Biden’s age.
Judge Aileen Cannon agreed on July 6 to grant a partial pause in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial, The Epoch Times’ Tom Ozimek reported. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that Trump enjoys broad legal immunity for his official actions as president.
The United States is increasing its scrutiny of Chinese purchases of land near military bases, The Epoch Times’ Darlene Sanchez McCormick reported. Chinese investors made 97 land transactions between 2020 and 2022, the most of all foreign nationals.
The Supreme Court rejected two cases related to gun rights in the last week of its term, Politico reported. But that may not remain the case, as Justice Clarence Thomas is pushing for the court to take up gun rights issues in the near future.
