The French on Sunday (7 July) sent one clear message: they don’t want to be governed by the far-right.
The Green-Left alliance surprised everyone, including the pollsters, to become the largest bloc in the French parliament while Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally came only third, behind president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition.
For many, this is a huge relief. Yet, neither the French, the Europeans nor Macron himself must forget that the French far-right is actually bigger than ever.
The tension in the air on Sunday night was so thick it was almost hard to breathe.
Would France have its first far-right prime minister of modern times this week, Jordan Bardella – the leader of Le Pens’s party? All polls suggested it would be a question of whether or not they would have a simple majority in parliament – and even if not, they would be the largest political force in France.
The French have turned out to vote three times in only a month (the European Parliament election, and then two rounds of national government). After the far-right had dominated the EU election Macron gambled on a snap election — which the far-right then dominated.
On Sunday it was time for a last, decisive vote.
