French elections: Will parties withdraw candidates to block the far right?
The unusual two-round voting system used in French elections means that the second round of voting is crucial - and this can be influenced if certain groups withdraw their candidates.
The final results for round one of voting, released early on Monday morning, showed the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party well in the lead with 33.4 percent of the votes. They were followed by the alliance of leftist parties, called the Nouveau Front Populaire on 28 percent, Macron's centrist group Ensemble on 20.8 percent, and the right-wing Les Republicains party on 10.2 percent.
Initial projections for the second round show that Marine Le Pen's far right Rassemblement National party could pick up anything between 255 and 295 seats. The party would need 289 seats to win a majority in parliament. But there are plenty of twists and turns ahead.
Follow the latest on the results HERE.
But now all eyes have moved to the second round of voting - to be held on July 7th - and in particular what action the different parties will take in order to try and block the far right from winning a majority.
In some areas the second round will come down to a two-horse race, but because of the high turnout in these elections there are an unusually high number of three-person second round votes, known as a triangulaire.
In total there are 190 two-person second round races, 303 three-person contests and five four-person races. A handful of candidates also won their seat outright in the first round, meaning that no second round takes places. Among the outright winners were Marine Le Pen and socialist leader Olivier Faure.
Most of these three-way run-off will take place between a candidate of the far-right, one of the left alliance and a centrist.
But candidates can withdraw between rounds, in particular to avoid splitting the anti-far right vote for example if centrists and leftist stood aside for each other.
Here's what the parties are saying;
READ MORE: French elections: What happens next as far-right lead in round one?
The left
In a bid to keep out the far right, the leftist alliance known as Nouveau Front Populaire said it would withdraw candidates who finished third in the first round.
"Our instructions are clear: not one more vote, not one more seat for the RN", said one of the group leaders, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Laurent Berger, former head of the moderate CFDT union echoed Mélenchon, writing on X: "Tonight, our democracy and our republican values are at stake with the RN (Rassemblement National) at the gates of power.
"No vote should be missing from the Republican stand-off. In the face of danger, the 'neither-nor' option is out of the question. It is imperative to block the extreme right."
Ce soir, il en va de notre démocratie et de nos valeurs républicaines face au RN aux portes du pouvoir.
Aucune voix ne doit manquer au désistement républicain. Face au danger le ni-ni n'est pas de mise. Il faut imperativement faire barrage à l'extrème droite.
— Laurent Berger (@LaurentBerger44) June 30, 2024
Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP and head of the Parti Socialiste list during the European elections, urged in a press release that third-place candidates to withdraw.
"History is watching us and judging us", he wrote, calling for there to be a "clear vote against RN candidates".
Marine Tondelier, the head of the Green Party (Les Écologistes), called on Macronist candidates to follow the same playbook as members of the left-wing.
"It would be incomprehensible for some people to continue not to differentiate between the left and the far right." She called on "centrist candidates to withdraw if you are in third place in three-way ties."
READ MORE: Explained: The big names and main parties in France's snap elections
The Centre
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a member of President Macron's party Renaissance, said on Sunday night: "We have the sincere conviction that we are fighting a just, strong, necessary and indispensable battle.
"Tonight is not a night like any other: the far right is at the gates of power. Our objective is clear: to prevent the RN from having an absolute majority and therefore from governing the country with the disastrous agenda it has in mind. Not a single vote must go to the Rassemblement National. France requires that we do not hesitate."
The PM added that candidates from the presidential majority who came in third and whose "continued participation in the race would result in the election of an RN candidate should withdraw to support another candidate who defends the values of the Republic like us".
One candidate from the Macronist coalition, Albane Branlant, who came in third place in the first constituency of the Somme département, announced that she would withdraw "in the face of the risk posed by the Rassemblement National".
Branlant competed in the same district as left-wing MP François Ruffin. She added: "I recognise the difference between political adversaries and the enemies of the Republic", Le Monde reported.
Nevertheless, the prime minister's words differed from comments made a few hours earlier by the minister for equality and member of Renaissance, Aurore Bergé, who told BFMTV that the party would not commit to pulling out third-place candidates.
"I don't want to say this evening that whatever happens we will withdraw."
Bergé specified that the Macron alliance would "look on a case-by-case basis, constituency by constituency, to see which 'Republican force' can win", adding that that may be members of the Les Republicains party, or other left-wing groups including the Parti Socialiste, Greens and "maybe even LFI candidates".
As for Édouard Philippe, the head of the centrist Horizons party and mayor of Le Havre, he called on members of his party who came in third place to withdraw to avoid the election of RN or LFI MPs.
"No vote should be cast for the RN or LFI camps, with whom we differ not just on programmes, but on fundamental values," he said.
"I propose that Horizons candidates who come third and whose presence in the second round, with no hope of victory, could encourage the election of a candidate from the extremes, withdraw in favour of candidates and parties with whom we share the same democratic and republican demands (...) Our country is full of resources, it knows how to react before it falls into the abyss".
The Right
Obviously the far-right Rassemblement National itself will not withdraw to avoid a far-right victory, but the question is potentially more difficult for the right-wing Les Républicains party.
Formerly a party of the centre right (which produced presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy), the party is these days much reduced and has moved sharply to the right.
Party leader Eric Ciotti formed an election alliance with Rassemblement National, which ended up splitting his own party - some candidates standing as part of the alliance as 'Les amis de Ciotti' and others standing on a non-aligned rightwing platform.
Eric Ciotti, who remains leader despite efforts to oust him, said on Sunday: "I call on all the Republicans to follow the path of unity that I have opened up. He added that Les Republicains "must participate in the unity of the entire right (...) faced with the far left, the threat is too serious, the danger is too great".
However, the part members who split with Ciotti over his pact also don't seem to be planning on withdrawing candidates from a three-way race.
"The danger facing our country today is the far left", said François-Xavier Bellamy, head of the Les Républicains list for the European elections.
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The final results for round one of voting, released early on Monday morning, showed the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party well in the lead with 33.4 percent of the votes. They were followed by the alliance of leftist parties, called the Nouveau Front Populaire on 28 percent, Macron's centrist group Ensemble on 20.8 percent, and the right-wing Les Republicains party on 10.2 percent.
Initial projections for the second round show that Marine Le Pen's far right Rassemblement National party could pick up anything between 255 and 295 seats. The party would need 289 seats to win a majority in parliament. But there are plenty of twists and turns ahead.
Follow the latest on the results HERE.
But now all eyes have moved to the second round of voting - to be held on July 7th - and in particular what action the different parties will take in order to try and block the far right from winning a majority.
In some areas the second round will come down to a two-horse race, but because of the high turnout in these elections there are an unusually high number of three-person second round votes, known as a triangulaire.
In total there are 190 two-person second round races, 303 three-person contests and five four-person races. A handful of candidates also won their seat outright in the first round, meaning that no second round takes places. Among the outright winners were Marine Le Pen and socialist leader Olivier Faure.
Most of these three-way run-off will take place between a candidate of the far-right, one of the left alliance and a centrist.
But candidates can withdraw between rounds, in particular to avoid splitting the anti-far right vote for example if centrists and leftist stood aside for each other.
Here's what the parties are saying;
READ MORE: French elections: What happens next as far-right lead in round one?
The left
In a bid to keep out the far right, the leftist alliance known as Nouveau Front Populaire said it would withdraw candidates who finished third in the first round.
"Our instructions are clear: not one more vote, not one more seat for the RN", said one of the group leaders, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Laurent Berger, former head of the moderate CFDT union echoed Mélenchon, writing on X: "Tonight, our democracy and our republican values are at stake with the RN (Rassemblement National) at the gates of power.
"No vote should be missing from the Republican stand-off. In the face of danger, the 'neither-nor' option is out of the question. It is imperative to block the extreme right."
Ce soir, il en va de notre démocratie et de nos valeurs républicaines face au RN aux portes du pouvoir.
— Laurent Berger (@LaurentBerger44) June 30, 2024
Aucune voix ne doit manquer au désistement républicain. Face au danger le ni-ni n'est pas de mise. Il faut imperativement faire barrage à l'extrème droite.
Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP and head of the Parti Socialiste list during the European elections, urged in a press release that third-place candidates to withdraw.
"History is watching us and judging us", he wrote, calling for there to be a "clear vote against RN candidates".
Marine Tondelier, the head of the Green Party (Les Écologistes), called on Macronist candidates to follow the same playbook as members of the left-wing.
"It would be incomprehensible for some people to continue not to differentiate between the left and the far right." She called on "centrist candidates to withdraw if you are in third place in three-way ties."
READ MORE: Explained: The big names and main parties in France's snap elections
The Centre
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a member of President Macron's party Renaissance, said on Sunday night: "We have the sincere conviction that we are fighting a just, strong, necessary and indispensable battle.
"Tonight is not a night like any other: the far right is at the gates of power. Our objective is clear: to prevent the RN from having an absolute majority and therefore from governing the country with the disastrous agenda it has in mind. Not a single vote must go to the Rassemblement National. France requires that we do not hesitate."
The PM added that candidates from the presidential majority who came in third and whose "continued participation in the race would result in the election of an RN candidate should withdraw to support another candidate who defends the values of the Republic like us".
One candidate from the Macronist coalition, Albane Branlant, who came in third place in the first constituency of the Somme département, announced that she would withdraw "in the face of the risk posed by the Rassemblement National".
Branlant competed in the same district as left-wing MP François Ruffin. She added: "I recognise the difference between political adversaries and the enemies of the Republic", Le Monde reported.
Nevertheless, the prime minister's words differed from comments made a few hours earlier by the minister for equality and member of Renaissance, Aurore Bergé, who told BFMTV that the party would not commit to pulling out third-place candidates.
"I don't want to say this evening that whatever happens we will withdraw."
Bergé specified that the Macron alliance would "look on a case-by-case basis, constituency by constituency, to see which 'Republican force' can win", adding that that may be members of the Les Republicains party, or other left-wing groups including the Parti Socialiste, Greens and "maybe even LFI candidates".
As for Édouard Philippe, the head of the centrist Horizons party and mayor of Le Havre, he called on members of his party who came in third place to withdraw to avoid the election of RN or LFI MPs.
"No vote should be cast for the RN or LFI camps, with whom we differ not just on programmes, but on fundamental values," he said.
"I propose that Horizons candidates who come third and whose presence in the second round, with no hope of victory, could encourage the election of a candidate from the extremes, withdraw in favour of candidates and parties with whom we share the same democratic and republican demands (...) Our country is full of resources, it knows how to react before it falls into the abyss".
The Right
Obviously the far-right Rassemblement National itself will not withdraw to avoid a far-right victory, but the question is potentially more difficult for the right-wing Les Républicains party.
Formerly a party of the centre right (which produced presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy), the party is these days much reduced and has moved sharply to the right.
Party leader Eric Ciotti formed an election alliance with Rassemblement National, which ended up splitting his own party - some candidates standing as part of the alliance as 'Les amis de Ciotti' and others standing on a non-aligned rightwing platform.
Eric Ciotti, who remains leader despite efforts to oust him, said on Sunday: "I call on all the Republicans to follow the path of unity that I have opened up. He added that Les Republicains "must participate in the unity of the entire right (...) faced with the far left, the threat is too serious, the danger is too great".
However, the part members who split with Ciotti over his pact also don't seem to be planning on withdrawing candidates from a three-way race.
"The danger facing our country today is the far left", said François-Xavier Bellamy, head of the Les Républicains list for the European elections.
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