Page 2 - France Elections

Macron refuses French PM's resignation after chaotic election results

French President Emmanual Macron refused the resignation Monday of the country's prime minister, asking him on Monday to remain temporarily as the head of the government after chaotic election results left the government in limbo. French voters split the legislature on the left, center and far-right, leaving no faction even close to the majority needed to form a government. The results from Sunday's vote raised the risk of paralysis for the European Union's second-largest economy. President Emmanuel Macron gambled that his decision to call snap elections would give France a moment of clarification, but the outcome showed the opposite, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics thrusts the country on the international stage. France's main share index opened with a dip, but quickly recovered, possibly because markets had feared an outright victory for the far right or the leftist coalition. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would remain in office if needed bu

French elections: Macron the gambler wins chance to play Kingmaker

Results for the final round of France's snap parliamentary election suggest voters have delivered an emphatic 'non' to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally

French elections 2024: Left leads, far-right rises, no majority secured

The left coalition in France won the most seats in Sunday's legislative elections, countering a far-right surge but failing to secure a majority

With French Parliament shifting to 'Left', risk of policy paralysis looms

The result delivered a stinging blow to President Emmanuel Macron and leaves the euro zone's second largest economy in limbo, heralding a period of political instability

Violence breaks out in France as left-wing coalition leads snap election

French election night turned turbulent as results showed a left-wing coalition poised to claim the majority of parliamentary seats

French voters deliver political deadlock as left falls short of majority

The awkward leftist alliance, which the hard left, Greens and Socialists hastily put together before the vote, was far from having an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat assembly

French PM Attal resigns as leftist coalition defeats Macron's ruling party

The election results marked a significant shift in French politics, with the National Rally, led by Jordan Bardella, claiming substantial gains

French turn out in force for parliamentary election, far right seeks power

In the outgoing parliament, French President Macron's alliance had only 250 seats and he required support from other parties to pass laws

How Macron went from successful political newcomer to a weakened leader

French President Emmanuel Macron's expected political failure in decisive parliamentary elections Sunday may paralyse the country, weaken him abroad and overshadow his legacy, just as France prepares to step into the global spotlight as host of the Paris Olympics. France's youngest-ever president is known on the international stage for his tireless diplomatic efforts and pro-European initiatives. Now, many wonder how he will manage to keep the reins of the country with likely no majority in parliament and a confrontational government. Constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2027, Macron, 46, is facing a struggle not to become a lame duck. Whatever the outcome of Sunday's runoff, it's not expected to be good news for Macron. French media have recently described an end of reign atmosphere at the Elysee presidential palace. Polls show Macron's centrist alliance is headed for defeat in Sunday's runoff, after coming in third in the first round. It looks a

Election anxiety curbs Olympic enthusiasm among Parisians ahead of Paris 24

Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city is now mingled with anxiety about France's political future. The far-right National Rally's strong results in the first round of a rushed election has darkened the ambience for many in Paris, a left-wing stronghold that is one of the few places in France where the party failed to break through. Just imagining the far-right leading the country gives me panic attacks, 54-year-old Fabienne Martin said after finishing lunch with her son on the upscale Rue de Faubourg Saint-Honor. I was excited when the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille, but this election has completely killed the mood. Though the outcome is uncertain, the second round of the legislative elections on July 7 could mark a significant shift in France's political landscape, with Marine Le Pen's National Rally poised to potentially gain power. In Paris, where the National Rally received only 10% of the votes in the first round Sunday

Russia-linked cybercampaigns target France, focus on Olympics and elections

Photos of blood-red hands on a Holocaust memorial. Caskets at the Eiffel Tower. A fake French military recruitment drive calling for soldiers in Ukraine, and major French news sites improbably registered in an obscure Pacific territory, population 15,000. All are part of disinformation campaigns orchestrated out of Russia and targeting France, according to French officials and cybersecurity experts in Europe and the United States. France's legislative elections and the Paris Olympics sent them into overdrive. More than a dozen reports issued in the past year point to an intensifying effort from Russia to undermine France, particularly the upcoming Games, and President Emmanuel Macron, who is one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters in Europe. The Russian campaigns sowing anti-French disinformation began online early last summer but first became tangible in October 2023 when more than 1,000 bots linked to Russia relayed photos of graffitied Stars of David in Paris and its suburbs. A .

Far-right majority can be avoided in polls, says French PM Gabriel Attal

Asked about calls for the creation of a temporary cross-party government if no grouping achieved a majority, Attal said he would not impose on voters "a coalition they did not choose"

Historic win for far right in 1st round of French parliament elections

RN and allies had 33 per cent of the vote, followed by a leftwing bloc with 28 per cent and President Emmanuel Macron's centrists with just 20 per cent

Jordan Bardella could become youngest French PM at helm of far-right party

At just 28 years old, Jordan Bardella has helped make the far-right National Rally the strongest political force in France. And now he could become the country's youngest prime minister. After voters propelled Marine Le Pen's National Rally to a strong lead in Sunday's first round of snap legislative elections, Bardella turned to rallying supporters to hand their party an absolute majority in the decisive round on July 7. That would allow the anti-immigration, nationalist party to run the government, with Bardella at the helm. Who is the National Rally president? When Bardella replaced his mentor, Marine Le Pen, in 2022 at the helm of France's leading far-right party, he became the first person without the Le Pen name to lead it since its founding a half-century ago. His selection marked a symbolic changing of the guard. It was part of Le Pen's decade-long effort to rebrand her party, with its history of racism, and remove the stigma of antisemitism that clung to it in order to ..

French polls: France may see its first Far-Right govt since World War II

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party and its allies secured about one-third of France's national vote on Sunday, according to projections by French polling agencies

Euro rises after first-round of France's snap elections, yen struggles

The euro, which has fallen some 0.8% since Prez Emmanuel Macron called the election on June 9, was last 0.24% higher at $1.0737

French voters give strong lead to far-right in first-round of elections

French voters propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong lead in first-round legislative elections on Sunday and plunged the country into political uncertainty, according to polling projections. French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the surprise elections just three weeks ago, urged voters to rally against the far right in the second round of balloting. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an absolute majority at parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the far right to form a new government with party President Jordan Bardella as prime minister in order to work on France's recovery. Projections by polling agencies suggest the National Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, with an estimated one-third of the first-round vote, nearly double their 18 per cent in the first round in 2022. The party is building on its success in European elections

Exceptionally high-stakes elections begin in France, far-right leads polls

French voters around the world are casting ballots Sunday in the first round of an exceptional parliamentary election that could put France's government in the hands of nationalist, far-right forces for the first time since the Nazi era. The outcome of the two-round election, which will wrap up July 7, could impact European financial markets, Western support for Ukraine and how France's nuclear arsenal and global military force are managed. Many French voters are frustrated about inflation and economic concerns, as well as President Emmanuel Macron's leadership, which they see as arrogant and out-of-touch with their lives. Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration National Rally party has tapped and fueled that discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok, and dominated all preelection opinion polls. A new coalition on the left, the New Popular Front, is also posing a challenge to the pro-business Macron and his centrist alliance Together for the Republic. After a blitz campaign mar

Costly election pledges in France may push country deeper into debt

The promises are appealing - and expensive. Vying to oust the centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron in an upcoming two-round parliamentary election June 30 and July 7, French political parties of both the far right and far left are vowing to cut gasoline taxes, let workers retire earlier and raise wages. Their campaign pledges threaten to bust an already-swollen government budget, push up French interest rates and strain France's relations with the European Union. The snap election could well replace Macron's limping centrist government with one led by parties whose campaigns have abandoned any pretence of fiscal discipline,' economist Brigitte Granville of Queen Mary University of London wrote Thursday on the Project Syndicate website. The turbulence began June 9 when voters handed Macron a defeat at the hands of Marine Le Pen's hard right National Rally party in EU parliamentary elections. Macron promptly and surprisingly called a snap parliamentary election, convince

French protesters standing up to far right ahead of snap elections

Anti-racism groups were joining French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France on Saturday against the surging nationalist far right as frenzied campaigning is underway ahead of snap parliamentary elections. In Paris, those who fear that the elections will produce France's first far-right government since World War II will gather at Place de la Republique before marching through eastern Paris. The French Interior Ministry said 21,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed at protests across the country, with authorities expecting between 300,000 and 500,000 protesters nationwide. In the French Riviera city of Nice, protesters marched down Jean Mdecin Avenue, the city's main shopping street. An Associated Press journalist at the scene said she heard chants against the National Rally, its leader Jordan Bardella as well as against President Emmanuel Macron. Protest organisers said 3,000 took part, while the police put the number at 2,500. Nic