9:02 p.m., Sunday, June 9. France is plunging into a dizzying unknown, after the presidential announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly. Three weeks later, in the first round of these early legislative elections, it was the National Rally that came out on top by a wide margin ahead of the New Popular Front and the Macronist camp, more than ever in danger of disappearing. For the RN, however, nothing has yet been done to obtain an absolute majority, or even a solid relative majority.
This Monday, July 1, the question of withdrawals in the more than 310 triangulars largely occupied the debates and discussions. Emmanuel Macron called on his government to “not make a mistake” in fighting, and is targeting the far right. Finally, the various European heads of state are divided between concern and satisfaction following the results in France.
The common thread of the day: withdrawals in triangular races are overwhelming the parties
With 311 constituencies in a three-way situation, including 161 where the National Rally and its allies came out on top, the situation quickly became clear to each camp: should candidates who came third systematically withdraw in the face of the RN? Each camp is trying to apply its own guiding principle.
On the side of the PS, the Ecologists or the PCF, the instructions had been clear before the first round: their third-qualified candidates will systematically withdraw against the RN, whether the far-right candidates came first or second. The instruction seems to be respected at the national level for the moment. With certain strong choices, such as that of the ecologist Celline Gacon to withdraw to the constituency of Laurent Wauquiez, who beat the National Rally candidate by just over two points.
On the side of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon had stated this Sunday evening that his camp would withdraw its candidacies in the constituencies where it came in third place and where the RN is in the lead. Thus, the rebellious candidate Noé Gauchard withdrew in Calvados in favor of the former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, distanced by almost 8 points by the RN candidate. After a day of uncertainty, Leslie Mortreux, qualified in the constituency of Gérald Darmanin, who came in by a very narrow margin ahead of the National Rally, also announced that she was withdrawing.
It is especially on the side of the presidential camp that this question of withdrawals is for the moment the most vague, in particular when it comes to supporting an LFI candidate against the National Rally. While some like Edouard Philippe or Bruno Le Maire want “neither the RN nor the LFI”, some have called for doing it “on a case-by-case basis” like the outgoing president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet. Finally, some on the left wing, like Clément Beaune, recalled that they did not want to pose a barrier to the Republican front.
This Monday afternoon, there were at least forty Renaissance candidates who qualified third and who had confirmed their choice to withdraw. This is particularly the case of the Secretary of State for the City, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, who, in Marseille, announced this Sunday evening that she was withdrawing in favor of the left-wing candidate, who was 19 points behind the RN candidate. Or the Renaissance candidate Sylvie Casenave-Péré, who came third far behind Marie-Caroline Le Pen (Marine Le Pen’s sister) in Sarthe, who withdrew in favor of the rebellious candidate Elise Leboucher. Two other ministers, Marie Guévenoux and Fadila Khattabi, also announced that they were withdrawing in favor of the left-wing candidate.
On the other hand, around twenty candidates from the majority, who qualified in third position, have so far assumed their choice to maintain their candidacy. This is the case of the former minister Dominique Faure, qualified with 29% of the votes behind the RN candidate (30.4%) and the socialist candidate (36.2%). Some candidates who came in third thus claim to be in a better position to beat the RN than the New Popular Front: this is the case of Craig Monetti (Horizons) in Nice, qualified with 23% in Eric Ciotti’s constituency, the latter having come out quite largely ahead (41%) ahead of the LFI candidate (27%).
All parties combined, AFP counted around a hundred withdrawals against the RN at 5pm. These figures are still likely to change: the filing of applications for the second round is set for this Tuesday, at 6pm.
Today’s statement: Emmanuel Macron calls on his government to “not make a mistake” in combat
This disunity in the presidential camp regarding behavior in the three-way contests did not escape Emmanuel Macron. During a meeting with members of his government at midday, the president called on them to “make no mistake.” “It is the extreme right that is on the verge of accessing the highest functions, no one else,” he said, according to a government source to AFP.
“Not a single vote should go to the far right. We must remember that in 2017 and 2022, on the other side, on the left, everyone carried this message. Without that, your servant and you would not be here,” he added. The President of the Republic has not, however, given a clear instruction to withdraw from Sunday’s runoff elections, according to several ministerial sources to AFP.
For his part, Gabriel Attal, head of the majority campaign, invited ministers to travel “everywhere we can make a difference” and “not to waste their strength when it is a lost cause”. “If there is a risk of the RN candidate being elected, we will withdraw”, he repeated, according to this government source to AFP, who reads this remark as “case by case”.
The tackle of the day: Marine Tondelier slams Le Maire’s “cowardly and privileged behavior”
While Bruno Le Maire had called this morning on France Inter to vote for “a candidate from the social-democratic camp” without including LFI in order to counter the RN, the president of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier very harshly attacked the Minister of the Economy.
“I have been living in a town held by the RN for ten years, it is cowardly and privileged behavior, it is above ground, it is lunar, it is not up to the standards of History “, she estimated. “Does the RN have the possibility of being in an absolute majority in the National Assembly? The answer is yes. Does LFI have the capacity to be in an absolute majority in the National Assembly? The answer is no,” she snapped. “Fortunately, left-wing voters, environmentalists, are less sectarian and less cowardly than that,” she finished.
The head of the Ecologists, on the other hand, “thanked Gabriel Attal, who was clearer than the average in his camp and I think that is a form of courage, whatever I think of his policy”.
Today’s reactions: European leaders, between concern and satisfaction
Outside of France, the whole of Europe is also closely following the result of the legislative elections. Thus, the head of German diplomacy considered on Monday that the victory of the National Rally in the first round could not leave “indifferent”. “Germany and France bear a particular responsibility for our common Europe”, stressed Annalena Baerbock during a press conference with her Latvian counterpart and “no one can remain indifferent […] if in our very close partner and best friend, a party which sees Europe as the problem and not the solution comes out on top by a wide margin.”
The result of the first round of the early French legislative elections is part of “a dangerous trend” for France and for Europe, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was delighted that the “demonization” of the far right was less followed. “The constant attempt to demonize people who don’t vote left […] “It is a trap that fewer and fewer people are falling into,” she said. At the other end of the spectrum, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who heads a left-wing coalition, insisted that he did not take “the victory of the extreme right for granted.”
The Kremlin also reacted, explaining that it was following the elections in France “very closely”, according to its spokesperson Dmitri Peskov. “We are waiting for the second round, but the preferences of French voters are more or less clear to us,” he added. “Last week, we saw (Joe) Biden lose the debate (against Donald Trump). And now Macron’s party has lost, coming in third place in the legislative elections. The heads of state in power are suffering resounding defeats “, said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma.
In the international media, the result of this first round was also widely commented on, as we show in our press review abroad.