Loading...

mosque
partly-cloudy
°C,

Macron loses parliament majority in stunning setback

June 20, 2022 / 7:44 AM
Image for the title: Macron loses parliament majority in stunning setback
download-img
Sharjah24 – AFP: French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday lost his parliamentary majority after major election gains by a newly formed left-wing alliance and the far right, in a stunning blow to his plans for major second-term reform.
The result from Sunday's second round poll threw French politics into turmoil, raising the prospect of a paralysed legislature or messy coalitions with Macron forced to reach out to new allies.

Macron, 44, now also risks being distracted by domestic problems as he seeks to play a prominent role in putting an end to Russia's war and as a key statesman in the EU.

Macron's "Together" coalition will still be the biggest party in the next National Assembly. But with 245 seats, according to full interior ministry results announced in the early hours of Monday, it is well short of the 289 seats needed for a majority in the 577-member chamber.

"This situation constitutes a risk for our country, given the challenges that we have to confront," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a televised statement, vowing: "We will work from tomorrow to build a working majority."

The outcome severely tarnished Macron's April presidential election victory when he defeated the far-right to be the first French president to win a second term in over two decades.

"It's a turning point for his image of invincibility," said Bruno Cautres, a researcher at the Centre for Political Research of Sciences Po.

Le Monde daily headlined on its website: "Macron faces the risk of political paralysis," while the Le Figaro daily said the results raised the spectre of a "stillborn new mandate".
 
June 20, 2022 / 7:44 AM

Related Topics

More on this Topic

Rotate For an optimal experience, please
rotate your device to portrait mode.