France is once again heading to the polls. On Sunday, voters will take part in the first round of snap parliamentary elections called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party suffered a heavy defeat in the June 9 European elections. For the first time in France’s history, the far right is in a position to win, through an election, an absolute majority in the Assemblée Nationale. This would force Macron to appoint a Rassemblement National prime minister and govern in “cohabitation” with him. How did we get there? How did Macron – who, since his first election in 2017, claims his sole objective is to prevent Marine Le Pen’s party from ascending to power – end up taking such a risky gamble? Why are voters increasingly turning to the far right? Was Le Pen’s “de-demonization” strategy a success? And what exactly will happen if her lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, becomes prime minister? How much power will he have? Could Macron resign?
These are the questions Le Monde‘s political journalists and reporters have been looking into during this unprecedentedly short campaign. The six articles below provide some answers.
- Who is far-right leader Jordan Bardella?
Born in 1995 to Italian immigrants, Bardella grew up in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. His rise within Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party was meteoric.
- Macron could end up a loser. How did he get there?
Le Monde in English’s columnist, Gilles Paris, looks at how the president went from political rising star to potential loser of the upcoming polls.
- Why France could become ungovernable
From cohabitation with the far right to the appointment of an apolitical government to manage day-to-day affairs, the dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale means many once unlikely scenarios are now plausible.
- France’s middle class feels downgraded and is turning to the far right
Across the country, middle-class voters expressed their resentment during the June 9 EU elections. Some through abstention, and many by voting in favor of the Rassemblement National.
- The left’s hopes and fears
Supporters of the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire alliance are keen to get involved in the snap election campaign, but uncertain of how to oppose the far right. Le Monde spent time with left-wing voters in the towns and villages of Bourges, Figeac, Saint-Félix and Saint-Perdoux.
- Le Monde’s editorial: Preserving our democracy
The prospect of the far right coming to power in France should not lead to any hesitation: It’s time to mobilize and again block the Rassemblement National. Yielding any power to it means nothing less than taking the risk of seeing everything that has been built and conquered over more than two and a half centuries gradually being undone.