The far right and the far left are tonight’s big winners in the first round of the French election. This is shown by French polling station surveys.
The political scientist: “Can have consequences”
According to the forecasts, the right-wing nationalist National Gathering will get 34 percent of the vote, followed by the left-wing alliance NFP’s 28.5 percent. President Macron’s center alliance Together ranks third with 20.3 percent.
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– It is a shock result in some sense that the National Assembly is actually the largest party in the French election, says political scientist Göran von Sydow.
At the same time, he believes that the election result could have international consequences for European cooperation – regardless of how the second round of the election goes.
– In any event, Macron is weakened, and he is responsible for foreign policy, he says.
Greater turnout than in 2022
The French voter turnout is estimated at 65.5 percent, according to the opinion polling institute Ipsos.
It is significantly higher than the turnout in 2022, which amounted to 47.5 percent.
The turnout can be explained by the fact that the far right is believed to have succeeded in mobilizing voters who finally saw a chance to win for real. At the same time, left-wing and middle-of-the-road voters who fear the advance of the far right are also believed to have felt extra urged to vote.