Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Rally (RN) party have won early elections in France by a landslide, sparking backlash from rival domestic parties and foreign politicians.
The RN won nearly 34 percent of the vote in the first round of parliamentary elections, which is a major victory – but not one that gives the party an absolute majority in parliament.
Le Pen, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition with around 29 percent and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance with around 20.5 percent, called on French citizens to vote for her party in the second round.
Despite his defeat, Macron welcomed the high turnout of 65.8%, and reiterated his call to stand up to the far right in the second round.
“Faced with the National Rally, the time has come for a great union, clearly democratic and republican for the second round,” the president stressed in a press release.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the center left, said the president had suffered a “harsh and indisputable defeat” and was responsible for the shock decision to dissolve parliament, but that stopping the far right was the priority.
“Not one more vote for the RN, not one more seat for the RN,” he stressed.
“Chaos and failure”
In her first comments after France’s first round results, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday that the “constant attempt to demonize” far-right voters was losing its impact.
“The constant attempt to demonize and corner people who don’t vote left… is a trap that fewer and fewer people are falling into,” Meloni told the Adnkronos news agency.
In the United Kingdom, election candidate Keir Starmer of the Labor Party said that the victory of the far right in France proves that the left must show that “only progressives have answers” to the problems of the United Kingdom and all Europe.
“We need to make this progressive decision. But in doing so we need to understand why, after 14 years of chaos and failure, people in the UK are feeling disaffected by politics, are putting politics back into service and are continuing to assert that politics is a force for good,” he said.
Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said he was “impressed” by Le Pen’s positions, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also seems “of the same opinion.”
Chikli told Kan public radio on Monday that it would be “great for Israel.” if Le Pen became president in Francegiven his “strong stance” against Hamas, the International Criminal Court and anti-Semitism.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, however, warned against the far right.
“They love Putin, money and unchecked power. And they are already in power or seeking to obtain it in the East or West of Europe,” he wrote in an online message.
“They are coming together in the European Parliament. In Poland, we reversed this fatal trend at the very last moment. Let’s not waste this opportunity,” he added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet appeared to be respecting an unofficial ban on commenting on foreign elections.
But Michael Roth, a member of Scholz’s Social Democrats, believes the party is responsible for not having given more support to the pro-European liberal president in France.
“We do not pay enough attention to political debates and the problems of other countries,” he added, noting that the alternative to Macron “is in fact no longer (former French President Nicolas) Sarkozy but rather a far-right nationalist like Marine Le”. Pen”.
Spanish socialist leader Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he saw a warning in the victory of the far right in France.
“The advance of the extreme right in France is not unrelated to what is happening in other parts of the world – including Spain – where we see how, directly or indirectly (…) the extreme right is advancing institutionally and in the polls,” he said in an interview with Cadena Ser radio.
The French and European markets reacted favourably to the result of Monday’s elections.
French stocks and the euro advanced, with the CAC 40 index, which represents 40 of the largest companies listed in Paris, gaining 2.7% at the opening before slowing slightly.
The euro, which had been hit after Macron’s surprise announcement Following the European Parliament elections in early June, the dollar reached its highest level against the US dollar in more than two weeks.
European stocks also rose, with the European STOXX 600 index rebounding from last week’s losses, thanks in part to a rise in the CAC 40 index.
