The dimensions and consequences of the victory of the leftists in France/Paris

Mehr News, International Group: With the second round of the French House of Representatives elections on July 8, the leftist coalition The so-called “New Popular Front” won the most seats. In this round of elections, also the “Alliance together” which is a moderate group led by Emmanuel Macron and the right-wing coalition of the National Assembly led by Marin Le Pen consisting of the left groups and the Greens were ranked next. The victory of the leftists in this election indicates the creation of new approaches and policies in France, which are different from the views of moderate and far-right movements.

A look at the results of the first and second rounds of the French elections

The French electoral system is a two-stage voting system for choosing one person from several candidates. If none of the candidates can get a certain amount of votes in the first round of the election (usually a majority between 40 “> to 45 percent with difference 5 to 15 is a percentage), those candidates who got fewer votes than a certain number of votes or all the candidates except the two candidates who got the most votes are eliminated and the remaining people go to the next round of competition. . The French House of Representatives has 577 seats, and according to the country’s electoral system, a party or coalition must win at least 289 of the mentioned number of seats to obtain an absolute majority.

In the first round of the election of the House of Representatives, which was held with the participation of 67% of French voters National Community Alliance (RN) won 33.14 percent of the votes. The New People’s Front (NFP) came in second with 20.76% votes. Ensemble, led by Emmanuel Macron, came third with 20.76 percent of the vote. However, the results of the second round of the election, which was held with the presence of 66.63 qualified candidates, were as follows:

1- The new popular front led by Luke Melanchon consists of rebellious French parties ( LFI, Socialist Party ( PS), party Communist ( PCF), European Environmental Greens (EEVL) and the Radical Party (RP) won 188 seats with 32.6 percent of votes.

2- A joint coalition consisting of moderate parties led by French President Emmanuel Macron, including Renaissance parties, Medium and the horizons won 161 seats with 27.9 percent of votes.

3- National community coalition led by Marin Le Pen the far-right politician won 142 seats with 24.6 percent of the vote.

Because none of the three blocs have obtained absolute majority power, a coalition government between coalitions or political parties should be formed in this country. In this situation, as French experts have predicted, there is a possibility that its Sambel coalition, led by Macron from moderate parties, will spend its efforts to get closer to the socialists. And the greens, more moderate parties in the left-wing coalition and the new Popular Front, and by this means the grand coalition of the House of Representatives to form the government. The French constitution allows the president to appoint whoever he wants as prime minister. But in practice, because the parliament can force the government to resign, the president usually chooses someone who is acceptable to the parliament.

Based on this, it seems that in order to form a coalition government that has the necessary efficiency, Macron has no choice but to appoint a prime minister from the New Popular Front, which has the most seats. has obtained Moreover, Melanchon, the leader of the winning coalition, has also emphasized in a speech that: “The will of the people must be strictly respected and no other arrangement will be acceptable.” » But experts believe that creating a mainstream coalition, although possible in principle, is difficult given the different positions of the parties on issues such as immigrants, taxes, pensions and green investment.

Right-wing programs

Right-wing parties centered on Le Pen and the National Assembly coalition in France above all on policies They are anti-immigration focused. These parties have a history of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, hostility towards French Muslims and historical relations with Russia. The main headline of this coalition’s program was the reduction of legal and illegal immigration and the deportation of criminal foreigners in France. According to the anti-immigration programs of this party, French people with dual citizenship are denied the possibility of employment in some sensitive and strategic jobs, especially in the military and intelligence fields. The coalition also taps into voters’ frustration with inflation, low incomes, and the negative effects of globalization. In the field of foreign policy, a main program of Le Pen is convergence and friendship with Israel. In the economic field, he has promised to increase the power of consumers and to adopt stricter positions towards EU laws.

Leftist Programs

The programs of the leftists, contrary to the national community coalition, are based on the respectful reception of foreigners, which is based on That, the asylum and immigration laws approved in 2018 and 2024 will be repealed. Therefore, the main program of this party is to improve the conditions for accepting asylum seekers, facilitate their access to visas and issue residence permits with a validity of 10 years, provide asylum seekers with social support and create a relief agency. and sea and land rescue for migrants at EU level. In the field of foreign policy, the most important position of Melanchon, the leader of the left coalition, is the decision to recognize the state of Palestine. In a speech this June at the meeting of the People’s Union in the city of Besançon in eastern France, while demanding an immediate embargo on weapons sent to the Zionist army, he announced that France should recognize the Palestinian state. to recognize.

Programs of moderates

Emmanuel Macron is known among the French political spectrum as a neoliberal While rightists like Le Pen are considered representatives of nationalism. Moderates are in the middle of the right and left spectrum on the issue of immigration and believe in adopting selective policies. He is the most critical of the left-wing immigration policy known as the “open door” policy. Selective policies are also clear in the program of this coalition. The plans of the coalition state that it will continue to expel from its national territory any foreign offender or extremist who poses a threat to public order. This program has shown itself in practice in Macron’s policies since 2017, which has led to the expulsion of more than 12 thousand people from French soil. At the same time, he mentioned in another section that he welcomes “researchers, doctors, skilled workers”.

Result

The victory of the leftists is considered to be a change in the political atmosphere of France. In the field of domestic politics, the leftists focus on increasing taxes and reducing the power of the president in favor of the parliament and the legislature and easing the immigration law. At the same time, the center of gravity of election programs has been immigration policies, which is one of the challenges of the European Union at the macro level. The extreme right and the moderates want to implement strict and restrictive policies against immigration, but the leftists consider the policy of open doors and the organization of immigrants. In the field of foreign policy, the moderates are more demanding that France cooperate with the United States and the European Union. At the same time, the rightists want to be closer to Russia and to create interaction between NATO and Moscow. At the same time, the leftists demand the independent face of France at the global level, and especially in current issues, they demand the formation of a Palestinian state, the termination of France’s support for Israel, and a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine.

*Sajad Moradi Kalardeh, researcher of international relations