2024-07-03 21:15:50
Paris: After heavy voting in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, it has been predicted that for the first time since World War II, the reins of the country may go into the hands of far-right forces. According to exit polls, France’s right-wing National Rally (RN) party has gained a huge lead in the first round of parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, talks have begun between rival parties to keep the National Rally away from power, while protesters have gathered for protests in major cities of France. French feminists have demonstrated topless in front of the Eiffel Tower in protest against the right-wing National Rally.
Le Pen’s party ahead in exit poll
Exit polling agencies IFOP, Ipsos, OpinionWay and Elabe have predicted that Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is going to be the largest party with 34 percent of the vote. The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) is projected to get around 29 percent of the vote. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble Alliance is in third place and is projected to get around 20.3 percent of the vote.
National rally is considered anti-Muslim
In the European Parliament elections held last month, right-wing parties had a great success. This included France’s National Rally. After the crushing defeat from the National Rally, Macron had announced mid-term elections in France. The ‘National Rally’ has a long association with racism and anti-Semitism and is considered to be opposed to France’s Muslim community. Marine Le Pen’s ‘National Rally’ party has capitalized on the anti-immigration discontent in the elections and fueled it through social media platforms.
In France, which is considered one of the most liberal countries in Europe, right-wing parties have never come to power since the Second World War. The growing rise of the National Rally has worried the liberal society of France. At the same time, after the exit poll trends, supporters waved French flags and sang the French national anthem in the constituency of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen in northern France. Le Pen’s disciple and President of National Rally Jordan Bardella said that the second round of the election will be the most important in the history of the French Republic. The two-phase French parliamentary election will be held on 7 July.