SPEU - France Elections: Far-Right Rejected In Second Round But So Is Macronism

2024-07-09 07:05:00 ET

Summary

• The second round of the French National Assembly election delivered a hung parliament, as expected, but also a huge surprise. The far-right party National Rally fell from first to third place and the left-wing alliance of the Nouveau Front Populaire came out on top.
• President Macron's centrist coalition outperformed the first-round result by squeezing into second place. That said, Macronism has been as decisively rejected as the far-right populism of the RN.
• The prime minister from Macron's party, Gabriel Attal, offered his resignation. It is unclear who will succeed him and which coalition and policies can find a majority in a split National Assembly.
• The market's worst-case scenario of a far-right majority is averted, but uncertainty remains high and could continue to weigh on French financial assets.

In the second round of parliamentary elections, French voters decisively rejected the far-right populism of National Rally (RN), the party of former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. The party dropped from first place after the first round to third place, winning 143 seats in the new National Assembly (see Exhibit). The threat of an RN majority had mobilized voters; turnout was at the highest level for more than four decades....

For further details see: