France faces a hung parliament and the prospect of taxing negotiations starting on Monday to form a government, after a surprise left-wing surge blocked Marine Le Pen’s quest to bring the far right to power.
The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the dominant force in the National Assembly after Sunday's election, but with no single group securing a working majority the possibilities include the NFP forming a minority government or the building of a broad, unwieldy coalition.
The result delivered a stinging blow to President Emmanuel Macron and leaves the euro zone’s second largest economy in limbo, heralding a period of political instability just weeks before Paris hosts the Olympic Games.
Mr Macron ended up with a hugely fragmented parliament, in what is set to weaken France’s role in the European Union and further afield, and make it hard for anyone to push through a domestic agenda.
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The left won 182 seats, Mr Macron’s centrist alliance 168 and Ms Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and allies 143, interior ministry data cited by Le Monde newspaper showed.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he would tender his resignation, but it was not clear whether the president would accept it immediately, given the daunting task ahead to form a government. Mr Attal said he would be willing to stay on in a caretaker role.
“I will of course do my duties as long as it’s needed – it cannot be otherwise on the eve of a date [the Olympics] that is so important for our country,” Mr Attal said as it became clear Mr Macron’s alliance had endured a humbling setback.
Parties from the NFP – made up of the French Communist Party, hard left France Unbowed, the Greens and the Socialist Party – met overnight for first talks on how to proceed.
France Unbowed’s firebrand leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the new prime minister should hail from NFP. However, the bloc has no leader, and the its parties are strongly divided over who they could select as a suitable premier.
Some prominent centrist figures, including Edouard Philippe, a former prime minister under Mr Macron, said they were ready to work on a pact to ensure a stable government.
For Ms Le Pen’s RN, the result was a far cry from weeks during which opinion polls consistently projected it would win comfortably.
The left and centrist alliances co-operated after the first round of voting last week by pulling scores of candidates from three-way races to build a unified anti-RN vote.
In his first reaction, RN leader Jordan Bardella, Ms Le Pen’s protege, called the co-operation between anti-RN forces a “disgraceful alliance” that he said would paralyse France.
Ms Le Pen, who will likely be the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election, said Sunday’s ballot, in which the RN made major gains compared with previous elections, had sown the seeds for the future.
“Our victory has been merely delayed,” she said.
“The absence of majority and the absence of government will expose France and French people to formidable danger,” Mr Macron’s first prime minister, Edouard Philippe, warned on Sunday night. “Central political forces now have a responsibility they cannot duck: They must work for an agreement without dishonour that will stabilise the political situation.”
Mr Mélenchon told supporters on Sunday that the New Popular Front would implement its programme in its entirety and that he would refuse to enter into a deal with Mr Macron. But Socialist leader Olivier Faure struck a more conciliatory note, saying it is the party’s job to “find a path” to respond to the needs and demands of French people.
As darkness fell on Sunday, the statue of Marianne in Place de la République was lit up by fireworks amid celebrations by left-wing supporters. Marianne is a national symbol of France, representing reason, liberty and the ideals of the republic.
Many of France’s allies breathed a sigh of relief after the snap election but noted a messy coalition from a hung parliament could also pose headaches for Europe.
In particular, Ukraine’s allies feared a Le Pen-led government could be soft on Moscow and pare back military aid that Kyiv has relied on since the Russian invasion in 2022, though her party has latterly said Russia was a threat.
“First of all I am quite relieved there was no right-wing landslide,” said Germany’s vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, lauding efforts to prevent a “drifting towards nationalism and thereby moving Europe into even more difficult waters”.
“But nevertheless the election result will now represent an enormous challenge, especially for France itself, but of course also for Europe, which is currently in the phase of reorganisation after the European elections, and also for the German-French relationship,” he added.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk struck a positive tone. “In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw,” Mr Tusk said on X.
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said he was happy to see a defeat for the far right, which he described as “completely contrary to European values”.
Nikos Androulakis, the head of Greece’s Socialist Pasok party, said the French people had “raised a wall against the far right, racism and intolerance and guarded the timeless principles of the French Republic: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”.
Supportive messages came from leaders in Mexico and Venezuela, while Colombia’s leftist firebrand president, Gustavo Petro, also congratulated the French for keeping out Ms Le Pen.
“There are battles that last just a few days but (which) define humanity’s fate. France has gone through one of these,” he said.
An EU official called it a “huge relief” but added: “what it means for Europe on a day-to-day basis remains to be seen though”. – Agencies