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The far-right Rally National party extended its lead in the first round of France’s crucial parliamentary elections, a result that could soon mean the end of the centrist governing coalition backed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Predictions for Sunday’s first round Indicated Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won 34 percent of the national vote, while the left-wing coalition New Popular Front won about 29 percent and Macron’s Together coalition won 20 percent.
The second round of voting will take place on July 7th.
The two parties are competing for 577 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament.
Following the first-round result, Le Pen told supporters it was crucial to win a majority of votes in the second round, an achievement that could see National Rally leader Jordan Bardella become France’s prime minister.
Macron called for early general elections earlier this month after Le Pen’s party won a landslide victory in European elections.
With only three weeks to go in the election campaign, the move was seen as a big gamble by the French president, who had recently sought to warn voters about the dangers of a possible far-right or far-left government.
“When we’re tired of it all, when everyday life is tough, we can be tempted to go to the extreme where there’s a quicker solution.” Macron said: In a recent interview on the podcast “Generation Do It Yourself.”
“But the solution won’t be to reject the other,” he added.
Macron defeated Le Pen in the 2017 and 2022 French presidential elections. But after winning just 34% of the national vote in her first election, Le Pen made a big advance two years ago amid growing dissatisfaction with Macron’s leadership, winning more than 41% of the national vote.
If the Rally National performs well in the second round of parliamentary elections this year, France could be on track to elect its first far-right government since World War II.