A coalition of left-wing parties, the New Popular Front (NFP), won the largest number of seats in the French National Assembly, avoiding a much-feared landslide victory for the far-right National Rally (RN) in the legislative elections.
Sunday’s historic victory for the left-wing alliance – made up of the previously deeply divided Socialists, Greens, Communists and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Unruly France – was not easy. Since its formation 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 elections.
Marine Le Pen and her protégé, RN President Jordan Bardella, spent the weeks leading up to the elections trying to complete the reformulation of their party as the new “center-right” and classifying the NFP as the true “extremists”. . The left-wing alliance and especially Mélenchon have been accused of anti-Semitism for their support for Palestine, while the RN – a party founded by a convicted Holocaust denier – has been recast as a strong force against anti-Semitism due to its stance pro-Israel.
The whitewashing of the RN’s racist legacy and the demonization of the NFP as “anti-Semitic” were so extensive that the prevailing narrative in the media after the first round on 30 June was that a victory for the left would be so damaging, if not more, than one on the far right.
With centrist President Emmanuel Macron having already blurred the line between center and right by taking on a variety of right-codified authoritarian policies in recent years, it seemed that the conditions were ripe for the RN to complete its rehabilitation as a mainstream, from right. party and finally take control of the French Parliament
And yet, despite polls predicting a clear victory for the RN, the French electorate once again rejected the offers of Le Pen’s far-right on Sunday, placing their trust in the left instead.
The NFP came first, winning 182 seats, followed by Macron’s centrist and neoliberal ensemble, which secured 163. Le Pen and Bardella’s RN managed just 143, leaving them with no real path to forming a government.
Election night was dramatic, with RN supporters in tears and many journalists who covered the elections apparently struggling to understand the results presented by the French people. So where did it all go wrong for the RN?
The appointment of Bardella, then 26 years old, as president in 2022 was the beginning of a new era for RN. Bardella embodied many qualities that excite the far right: youth, hypermasculinity and immigrant origin combined with a tough stance against immigration, reinforced by the usual “anti-woke” speech. He skillfully promoted a far-right agenda, opposing abortion rights, spreading Islamophobia and demonizing immigrants, all while selling himself as a mainstream political operator. Most importantly, he sought to erase the party’s anti-Semitic history and neo-Nazi views prevalent among its core base by offering unconditional support for Israel’s far-right government and its bloody war in Gaza. He took advantage of the flaws and authoritarian tendencies of the centrist government, presenting his party as mainstream and rapidly increasing its political influence. Macron’s flirtation with the far right policiessuch as the ban on social media during protests, have significantly helped Bardella’s efforts to present the movement he leads alongside Le Pen as representative of mainstream patriotic populism.
His work to raise his party’s profile culminated in RN securing a decisive 31 percent of the vote in last month’s European Parliament elections and winning the highest percentage of votes in the first leg of the national parliamentary elections that Macron called in response. .
But when the second round of elections arrived, and a French government led by the RN became a real possibility, the electorate made it clear that they did not want the extreme right, no matter how normalized and trained the media was, to take command of the country. Furthermore, by transferring his support to the left-wing coalition, he made it clear that he does not subscribe to the horseshoe theory or the narrative that criticizing Israel and its war in Gaza is anti-Semitic or hateful.
On Sunday, Mélenchon and his new allies across the French left undoubtedly won a monumental victory. They demonstrated that it is the left and its unapologetic demand for meaningful reform and social justice, and not centrist offers of “more of the same”, that constitutes the antidote to the growing popularity of the far right. However, it is premature to celebrate.
The RN still managed to secure well over 100 seats – more than it had ever held. The left does not have the majority to form a government on its own, which means there will be political turmoil in the immediate future. Once the government is formed, the RN may not be in it, but it will certainly have a stronger voice in parliament. There is every reason to believe that the party will put up an even stronger fight in future elections.
However, the left still faces an important and unmissable opportunity.
The French electorate has made it clear that it is tired of the centrist and ideologically ambiguous governance offered by Macron. It was the French president’s failure to fix the economy and the authoritarian policies that normalized the far right that pushed many French voters into the arms of the RN. Now, voters have rejected what the RN is offering, and the left has a real opportunity to implement its agenda and chart a new path for France based on social justice, care for the environment and a foreign policy that is in line with the opinions and values of the French people.
The NFP’s platform includes increasing the monthly minimum wage, lowering the legal retirement age from 64 to 60, building one million new affordable housing units within five years, and freezing the prices of basic necessities like food. , energy and gas. The state would also cover all costs associated with children’s education, including meals, transportation and extracurricular activities – all financed through higher taxes on the wealthiest. The left-wing alliance also promised to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and put an end to the current French government’s fusion of anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel and its far-right government.
Implementing this ambitious agenda could restore balance to the French political system, act as a true long-term counterforce against the far right, and pave the way for a left-wing future in a country that must urgently recover from Macron’s neoliberalism. As it stands, the left now has a clear mandate to lead and, hopefully, the center will not prevent left-wing forces from forming a coalition, allowing Mélenchon to guide France towards healing its internal divisions.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
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