On Wednesday, France enters the final round of the race for early parliamentary elections, with the closing of nominations for the second round scheduled for Sunday, as a still-fragile Republican front against the far right appears to be on the rise.
According to an Agence France-Presse count, 214 candidates withdrew from the second round, and only 109 of the 311 constituencies expected after the first round are expected to see a contest between three or four candidates.
Parties of the left, the republican right and the center-right tried to overcome their reservations and contradictions to reach agreements that would block the way for the National Rally Party and its far-right allies.
If the electoral processes are insufficient and the National Rally actually comes to power, the party of Marine Le Pen and 28-year-old Jordan Bardella will form the first far-right government in France since World War II.
On Wednesday evening, the private network "BFMTV" will organize a "special program" to host Prime Minister Gabriel Attal from the presidential camp, Jordan Bardella and the head of environmentalists, Marine Tondolier (left), one after the other for an hour, as it was not agreed to organize a debate. between them.
President Emmanuel Macron caused a shock by announcing the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9, and the country's political scene witnessed a real coup, with the National Rally topping the results of the first round of legislative elections, ahead of the leftist coalition "New Popular Front".
Most of the forecasts for the distribution of seats published in recent days indicate that the National Assembly will find it difficult to obtain an absolute majority, estimated at 289 deputies, and the hypothesis of the establishment of a National Assembly is reinforced by three blocs of the extreme right, the left and the Macronites, which could make France an ungovernable country at a time when it prepares to receive a session. Olympic Games.
Bardella denounced "alliances of shame" and called on voters to give him the keys to power "in the face of the existential threat to the French nation" that he said was coming from the left.
The far-right leader Marine Le Pen even raises the possibility of forming a government with a relative majority of 270 deputies, supplemented by the support of deputies from outside the bloc, "for example, from some of the right, some of the left, and a number of Republicans (right)".
In the face of this far-right wave, there is a fragmentation among forces with different orientations, among which there are strong rivalries, but which are now obliged to reach agreements.
If these forces are able to do so, the Macronists, a section of the left and some members of the Republican Party will have the task of building a "grand coalition" according to a practice that is valid in other European countries but alien to French political traditions.
Marine Tondolier acknowledged that "things that no one has ever done before" will certainly have to be done in France. She added: "The question is 'for what?' more than 'with whom?'" and stressed: "There will be no Macronite prime minister.
The same speech was made by right-wing and Macronite officials, led by the prime minister himself, who spoke of a "multiple (national) association," and the head of the Republican Party, Xavier Bertrand, who called for a "government of national uprising."
This rapprochement appears fragile, however, because it conceals deep mutual suspicion between all these parties.
The Socialist Party fears that the Republican candidates who refused to withdraw will form an "alliance" with the National Rally, and the party's general secretary, Pierre Joffé, said that "the Republicans are ambiguous".
The radical left Proud France party, the largest and most controversial on the left, ruled out taking part in such a coalition. One of its representatives, Manuel Bombard, confirmed that the party "will only govern to implement its program, only the program, but the entire program."
Meanwhile, President Macron continues to keep silent in order not to further weaken his camp, at a time when he is facing resentment within his ranks after taking the decision that led France and the presidential majority into the unknown.
Since his announcement on Thursday in Brussels, he has not made any public statement, except for a letter to the French published on Sunday.
His party, which has a relative majority in the outgoing National Assembly, came in third in the first round of the election with only 20% of the vote and is bracing for defeat on Sunday.
Before attending the NATO summit in Washington next week, Macron is in a weak position on the international scene at a time when all eyes remain amid anticipation and anxiety on the next formation of power in a country that possesses nuclear weapons and is considered one of the pillars of the European Union.
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