Meaning of setback to aspirations of extreme right in French elections: Options before Left

By Harsh Thakor*

The results of the parliamentary elections in France created a major setback to the aspirations of victory for the extreme right. The Left-wing New Popular Front coalition upset the polls and knocked the neo-fascist Rassemblement National party of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella out of first place in the final round of parliamentary elections.

It was the result of broad unity, organization and mass mobilization. Through following a popular front approach, they have enlarged the space for escalating democratic struggle.

After an unusually high turnout, the RN bloc clinched 33.15% of the vote, while the Left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition came second with 27.99% and President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble alliance slumped to a dismal third with 20.76%, according to final results published by the Interior Ministry on Monday.

The result of the second round of elections to the French parliament gave victory to the New Popular Front, which obtained the largest number of elected Parliaments in the National Assembly. However, the coalition failed to achieve a majority. The extreme right of Rassemblement National was unable to guarantee the victory that was expected in the first round.

Shortly after the first round, the Left coalition joined Emmanuel Macron. The strategy, called the “cordon sanitaire” against the extreme right, was announced after the Rassemblement National won 33% of the votes in the first edition of the French electoral farce.

The Left, from the inception of the electoral dispute, ironically charted a series of right-wing positions in its electoral program. They included criticism of the “terrorist massacres of Hamas” and its “theocratic project”, morally supporting s concepts conveyed by Zionism.

Even though the leader of La France insoumise, Jean Luc Mélenchon, stated that “the New Popular Front is ready to govern France” and highlighted its “ecological and social program”, his coalition failed to secure the 189 seats to form the necessary majority to nominate the prime minister.

While Macron’s agreement with the New Popular Front is expected, new political crises are already surfacing with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, from Renaissance party, making the position available. Macron, however, asked Attal to remain in office “for the sake of the country’s stability”.

Macron, backed by support of big business, continues his path to keep New Popular Front out of power. He is a former investment banker who worked for Rothschild & Cie Banque before being plucked by former President François Hollande to become finance minister ten years ago. In that role and later as president, he privatized or deregulated major sections of the French economy, patronised layoffs, raised the retirement age for workers, and paved way for other pro capitalist policies.

Within this new development, even though the extreme right has not achieved its objective in the current election, critical issues for French workers are still untouched.

The majority of the new parliament is in favour, for example, of the pension reform, which, when announced by the Macron government in 2023, brought millions of French people to flood the streets.

The political forces representing the social democracy and the liberals, which for years have disguised themselves in politics in support of the strategy of the EU and NATO. They essentially follow the same path that has led to the consolidating of the far right in France and elsewhere.

A fitting response to the far-right can only be given by a rising workers-popular movement, which will target the very roots that sprouted these reactionary political currents, the EU, imperialist rivalries and wars.

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*Freelance journalist

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