The first round of the parliamentary elections took place in France last Sunday and saw Macron’s alliance (Ensemble, 25.7 % of the votes) unable to win. The union of the left, including socialists and ecologists under the radical left leadership of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has won at least as many votes as Macron’s party.
For the next round, on June 19th, there is a good chance that Macron’s alliance will not receive the majority in the National Assembly of the French Parliament. This defeat would mean that his government may become a minority government, having to negotiate different alliances depending on the topic, which is not a French tradition. Moreover, it means that Macron will need to receive the votes of another party. These include the conservative party Les Républicains, who still have a significant presence in the National assembly, the Greens, and the Socialists, representing the social-democratic Left, whose alliance with Mélenchon is not very solid.
That would be new for Macron, as his party, La Republique en Marche, had the majority in the previous election alone. To win the 2022 election, he was obliged to create an alliance with six other parties from the center right, and the center left. Whatever happens in the next round, he will have to deal with the opinions of his partners. These alliances could lead to more balanced decisions and prevent the bold moves of the first five years of Macron’s presidency.
Polls show that such a situation was the wish of many people who voted for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election. They would like to see more democracy in the country’s management and a balance of powers between the President and the Parliament. This shift may be the future of French democracy.
