With a hung parliament and possible cohabitation, France has clearly entered a period of political limbo.
Author
Mohan Kumar, Professor & Dean, Strategic and International Initiatives, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
It is a matter of political irony that the current imbroglio in France was triggered by President Emmanuel Macron, who called for snap legislative elections. When asked what made him do it, Macron responded by saying he wanted to seek “clarification” from the electorate following the heavy defeat his party suffered in the European elections. Well, Macron has now obtained the clarification he so desperately sought: France remains a bitterly divided nation between three blocs i.e. the Left parties constituting the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist and other parties, and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. None of the three blocs have anywhere close to an absolute majority.
Predictably, French voters have returned a fractured verdict in the legislative elections held on June 30 and July 7 resulting in a hung parliament. But the real surprise was that the New Popular Front came first in terms of votes secured in the second and final round of legislative elections. The far-Right National Rally, expected to come first, finished third because of a monumental effort by the rest of the political parties ganging up against it in the form of a Republican Front. In practice, this meant that well over 200 candidates belonging to the far-Left and centre-Right parties withdrew from the race so that they did not split the votes.
Published in: Hindustan Times
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