A coalition of left-wing parties, the New Popular Front (NFP), has won the largest number of seats in the French National Assembly, preventing a landslide victory for the far-right National Rally (RN) in the legislative elections.
Sunday’s historic victory for the left-wing alliance of the previously deeply divided Socialists, Greens, Communists, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise was not easy. Since its creation last month, the NFP has faced a barrage of criticism from both centrist elites and the far right, and has been demonized as a danger to the future of the Republic. The media environment was also deeply hostile, with the discredited horseshoe theory—that the far right and far left are closer to each other than either is to the political center—dominating the discourse surrounding the election.
Marine Le Pen and her protégé, RN president Jordan Bardella, spent the weeks leading up to the election trying to finalize the recasting of their party as the new “center-right” and portraying the NFP as the real “extremists.” The left-wing alliance and especially Mélenchon were accused of anti-Semitism for their support of Palestine while the RN—a party founded by a convicted Holocaust denier—was presented as a powerful force against anti-Semitism because of its pro-Israel stance.
The whitewashing of the RN’s racist legacy and the demonization of the NFP as “anti-Semitic” was so significant that the dominant media narrative after the first round on June 30 was that a victory for the left would be as harmful, if not more so, than a victory for the far right.
With centrist President Emmanuel Macron already blurring the line between center and right by adopting a variety of right-wing authoritarian policies in recent years, it seemed that the conditions were ripe for the RN to complete its rehabilitation as a traditional right-wing party and finally take control of the French parliament.
And yet, while pollsters predicted a clear victory for the RN, French voters once again rejected Le Pen’s far-right proposals on Sunday, placing their trust in the left instead.
The NFP came out on top, winning 182 seats, followed by Macron’s centrist, neoliberal Ensemble party, which won 163. Le Pen and Bardella’s RN were only able to secure 143, leaving them with no real chance of forming a government.
Election night was eventful, with RN supporters in tears and many journalists covering the election seemingly struggling to understand the results announced by the French people. So where has the RN gone?
The appointment of Bardella, then 26, as president of the RN in 2022 marks the beginning of a new era for the RN. Bardella embodies many of the qualities that excite the far right: youth, hypermasculinity and immigrant background, combined with a strong stance against immigration, reinforced by the usual “anti-woke” rhetoric. He has skillfully promoted a far-right agenda, opposing abortion rights, spreading Islamophobia and demonizing immigrants while presenting himself as a mainstream political actor. Above all, he has tried to erase the party’s anti-Semitic history and the neo-Nazi views prevalent among its core base by offering unconditional support for Israel’s far-right government and its bloody war on Gaza. He has taken advantage of the failings and authoritarian tendencies of the centrist government, presenting his party as a mainstream party and rapidly increasing its political influence. StrategiesSuch measures as the banning of social media during the protests have greatly helped Bardella to present the movement he leads alongside Le Pen as representing traditional patriotic populism.
His work to raise the profile of his party resulted in the RN securing a decisive 31% of the vote in last month’s European Parliament elections and securing the highest percentage of votes in the first round of national parliamentary elections called by Macron in response.
But when the second round of elections came, and an RN-led government became a real possibility, voters made it clear that they did not want the far right, however normalized and media-friendly it may be, to take over the country. Moreover, by supporting the left-wing coalition, they made it clear that they did not subscribe to the horseshoe theory and that they did not buy into the narrative that criticizing Israel and its war on Gaza was anti-Semitic or hateful.
On Sunday, Mélenchon and his new allies on the French left undoubtedly won a monumental victory. They demonstrated that it is the left and its unapologetic demand for meaningful reforms and social justice, not centrist proposals for “more of the same,” that are the antidote to the growing popularity of the far right. But it is premature to celebrate.
The RN still managed to win over 100 seats, more than it has ever had. The left does not have the majority needed to form a government on its own, which means that political turbulence is to be expected in the near future. Once a government is formed, the RN may not be part of it, but it will certainly have a stronger voice in parliament. Everything suggests that the party will fight even harder in the next elections.
The left nevertheless faces an important and unavoidable opportunity.
French voters have made it clear that they are fed up with the centrist and ideologically ambiguous governance proposed by Macron. It was the French president’s failure to fix the economy and the authoritarian policies that normalized the far right that drove many French voters into the arms of the RN. Today, voters have rejected the RN’s proposal, and the left has a real chance to implement its program and chart a new course for France based on social justice, respect for the environment, and a foreign policy that is consistent with the views and values of the French people.
The NFP’s platform includes raising the monthly minimum wage, lowering the retirement age from 64 to 60, building one million new affordable homes over five years, and freezing the prices of basic necessities such as food, energy and gas. The state would also cover all costs related to children’s education, including meals, transportation and extracurricular activities, all funded by taxing the wealthiest more. The left-wing alliance has also promised to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and end the current French government’s conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel and its far-right government.
Implementing this ambitious program could restore balance to the French political system, provide a real long-term counter-power against the far right, and pave the way for a left-wing future in a country that urgently needs to recover from Macron’s neoliberalism. As things stand, the left now has a clear mandate to lead the country, and hopefully the center will not prevent left-wing forces from forming a coalition, allowing Mélenchon to guide France toward healing its internal divisions.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
