Gabriel Attal, the Prime Minister of France, has called on voters to help block the right-wing National Rally (NR) from winning Sunday’s vote.
The second round of voting in the French legislative election is on Sunday.
The first round was held last Sunday. It saw the NR and its allies win 38 seats outright, while the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) managed 32 seats. The party of Attal and President Emmanuel Macron, Ensemble, won two seats.
France uses a two-round system of voting. If a candidate wins an absolute majority of votes in a constituency, which is equal to 25% of registered voters, they are duly elected. If not, then a second round is held to determine a winner.
Some observers have characterised the NR as ‘far-right,’ but others have said this characterisation is misleading and the party has moved itself to the centre in recent years.
The snap election was called by Macron following the NR’s good showing in elections for the European parliament held last month. However, observers believe he may have miscalculated, and the NR is likely to emerge as the single biggest party. It could win an outright majority in the 577-seat French legislature.
In a number of constituencies, candidates from the NR, NPF, and Ensemble did well enough to make it to the second round. However, candidates from either the NPF or Ensemble have withdrawn from some constituencies in order to allow their political rivals a better chance of beating NR candidates.
Attal warned that the only single group that could win an absolute majority was the NR and he called on voters to help block the party’s candidates, saying he considered it a ‘responsibility’.
The tactic has been slammed by the NR, with Jordan Bardella, who is a likely Prime Minister under an NR government, calling it an ‘alliance of dishonour’.