France polarizes extreme right-wing blocking, left-wing immigration expansion instead of immigration cuts
The left-wing coalition, which blocked France's far-right surge, won with a pledge to simplify asylum instead of cutting immigration, polarizing the country.
The left-wing coalition of the New Popular Front, which was formed last month to prevent the far-right National Coalition (RN) from taking power, won dozens of seats in the vote count on the night of the 7th, blocking predictions of a far-right victory.
The coalition of four left-wing parties - the Communists, the Socialists, the Greens and the far-left Unbowed France - pledged to make the asylum process more lenient and smooth, rather than drastically cutting immigration as the far-right had promised during the month-long election campaign. He declared that he would raise tens of billions of euros needed to cover the costs of the program by taxing wealthy individuals.
The platform proposed by the Left League includes raising France's monthly minimum wage, lowering the legal retirement age from 64 to 60, building one million new affordable homes within five years, and freeing the country from freezing prices of basic necessities including food, energy and gas. This includes paying the household for all costs associated with the child's education, including meals at restaurants, transportation, and extracurricular activities.
Brice Teinturier, a research expert at French opinion pollster IPSOS, said the far-right's frustration was due to "the RN's shortcomings, including revelations before the runoff that several of its candidates had expressed xenophobic views." He pointed out that the election results raised public questions about “whether the RN has really abandoned its more harmful past.”
“The RN candidates themselves have shown that they are not ready or among their candidates to express anti-Semitism, xenophobia and homophobia in this election,” analyst Tainturier told France 2 television, Reuters reported.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of the most notable left-wing political party, France Unbowed, refuses to call Hamas a terrorist organization and condemns Israel's military operation in Gaza as "genocide." , characterized the mass demonstration against antisemitism, attended by two former French presidents, as a "meeting for friends who unconditionally support the genocide."
The right-wing French business newspaper Les Echos published his solemn face on the front page with the title “la claque” or “the slap,” expressing concerns about extreme leftism.
'France that will not kneel' Mélenchon was quick to declare that his party was not willing to negotiate to form a coalition government even though election victory was certain, and that he would give the left-wing alliance the reins to govern so that it could implement its "overall programme". asked to be given.
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said he would not engage in negotiations to form a coalition government, saying "it would betray the vote of the French people and prolong the Macronist program."
The New York Times reported that day, “While many people in France cheered what appeared to be a defeat for the far right, others feared what the far left would bring.”
AP said, “The French left-wing coalition won the most seats in the high-stakes legislative election, defeating the far-right wave, but failed to obtain a majority,” adding, “As a result, France, a pillar of the European Union (EU) and host of the Olympics, suffered a paralysis of parliament and political instability.” “We are in danger of being paralyzed,” he said.
France's left-wing political turmoil is now likely to have far-reaching implications for the Ukraine war, global diplomacy and Europe's economic stability, as it shakes global markets and the EU's second-largest French economy.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who initially began his political gamble by dissolving parliament, once again provided voters with a "public explanation" by calling this general election after losing on June 9, when the extreme right surged in the European Parliament elections, and the results were negative for the far right. moved to the extreme left.
Today's parliamentary election was the result of Macron's gamble, with all three major blocs delivering an uneasy victory for his left-wing coalition, which fell short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the more powerful of France's two legislatures.
The leftist New People's Front coalition has a little over 180 seats, and President Macron's centrist coalition has 160 seats. Marine Le Pen's far-right party National Rally and its allies came in third place with about 140 seats.
In France, the previous party share expanded from 89 seats in 2022 to 140, a record high for the far-right National Coalition.
French politics shows centralization unlike other European countries, as there is no tradition of coalition government under the presidential system and people with different policies do not participate in the cabinet.
Centrist President Macron's political gamble resulted in voters breaking away from the extreme right and left and choosing the extreme left as resistance to the extreme right rather than choosing the center.
“Rather than backing Macron, millions of French voters used his surprise decision as an opportunity to vent their anger over inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances, including Macron’s style of government,” the AP said. “The stark polarization of French politics The fierce and fast-paced election campaign has complicated all efforts to form a government and led to a highly unusual suspension of parliament in France, with racism and antisemitism driving the election campaign along with disinformation. “This is uncharted territory in modern France.”