President Emmanuel Macron’s political bloc took the lead in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday. But the question is whether the coalition of parties supporting Macron will get enough votes to maintain an absolute majority in parliament.
To gain a majority in the Assemblée Nationale, Macron must win 289 of the 577 seats. But according to polls, it appears that Ensemble will win between 260 and 310 seats. So it is not certain whether Macron will retain the absolute majority, which he needs to continue with the current government. Otherwise, he will have to form a new coalition and appoint new ministers.
The new left-wing NUPES bloc can count on 150 to 220 seats on Sunday. The right-wing Republican bloc and its partners won between 50 and 80 seats.
After Macron won the presidential election in April, he promised a new political era. But there is still criticism. Energy and food prices have skyrocketed, Macron has not cracked down on Russian President Putin, and two women have accused the new Solidarity Minister Damienabad of the crime last month.
France operates a system of provinces. This means that each constituency in Parliament is represented by one seat. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round of elections, a second round is held. The two candidates with the most votes and all the other candidates with more than 12.5 percent of the votes will advance to the second round on Sunday, June 19.
Voter turnout in the first round was low. It is estimated that 47.7 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
