Displaying items by tag: Marine Le Pen

Opponents of Marine le Pen’s far-right party National Rally (RN) have intensified efforts to block it from power, with over 200 candidates withdrawing from run-off elections to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote. RN led the first-round vote; the radical left-wing LFI was second, and Macron's centrist group third. Polls give RN between 250 and 300 seats: they need 289 for an outright majority. Macron has said that the top priority is blocking the RN, even if that meant endorsing an LFI candidate, but it was uncertain whether voters would follow that route. Le Pen stated RN would not form a government without a workable majority, hinting at alliances with other parties if needed. The RN would cut funding to the EU, and its anti-migrant policies have been criticised by human rights groups. There are fears that a hung parliament would lead to policy paralysis for the remaining three years of Macron's presidency.

France's political future is uncertain as Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) leads opinion polls ahead of parliamentary elections on 30 June. Emmanuel Macron faces potential ‘cohabitation’ with an opposing prime minister, or a fragmented chamber unable to form a stable majority. The polls give RN at least 35% in the first round, with a left alliance at 29% and Macron's centrists around 20%. A high turnout is expected. RN could possibly win more than half the 577 seats being contested. Le Pen is already planning to challenge Macron's authority, especially regarding military decisions: her candidate for prime minister, Jordan Bardella, opposes sending long-range missiles to Ukraine. Current prime minister Gabriel Attal is seeking to highlight RN's divisiveness and the left’s sectarian policies. A final debate offers a last chance to sway voters.

Emmanuel Macron has said he intends to win the snap legislative election he called after his allies' significant defeat to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) in the European Parliament elections. He has dismissed claims that dissolving parliament was reckless, potentially empowering the far right and hindering his domestic policy agenda. He stated that his decision was in France's best interests, and urged citizens to vote. The RN secured about 32% of the vote, compared to the 15% garnered by Macron's allies (almost the same percentage as the Socialists). However, he expressed confidence that a national election would be very different, pointing out that politics is dynamic and opinion polls are unreliable. He stated that the president's role is crucial for the republic, institutions,and Europe, and his position is secure regardless of the election outcome - even though the RN would probably call for his resignation if it won.

On 16 January Emmanuel Macron made a notable shift to the political right during a televised press conference, signalling a change in his political stance. One week earlier, he had appointed Gabriel Attal as the youngest prime minister in French history, leading a noticeably more right-wing cabinet. The move appears to be a response to the growing challenge posed by the hard-right nationalists led by Marine Le Pen's, who are tipped to win the European elections in June. Macron emphasised the importance of instilling French republican values in schoolchildren. He proposed measures like school uniforms, learning the national anthem, civic service for 16-year-olds, and cracking down on drug gangs. He also announced policies to combat the declining birth rate, including improved access to fertility treatments and enhanced parental leave. The press conference format allowed Macron to delve into details, but it also risked portraying him as hiding a lack of substance behind torrents of words. Marine Le Pen dismissed the event as ‘yet another interminable jabber’.

France is in uncharted waters after President Emmanuel Macron lost his majority, with a large, shaky opposition bloc on the left and many more far-right lawmakers surging into the National Assembly. Just two months into his second five-year term, Macron has the narrowest majority in French political history and must govern through coalition-building. Marine Le Pen's strategy to turn her far-right party mainstream has succeeded, increasing its lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party's rise from fringe status to mainstream opposition. The largest opposition group can claim the privilege of chairing the National Assembly's finance committee - a strategic role because the committee's president sets the agenda, giving any opposition lawmaker determined to hamstring the majority a tool to do so. It also confers powers of inquiry, with access to tax and public spending documents usually off-limits. Marine Le Pen says she intends to lobby for this highly strategic post.

As the French presidential race heats up, WikiLeaks archives contain potentially sensitive files on the three main contenders - the republican Francois Fillon, the right-wing hardliner Marine Le Pen, and the liberal Emmanuel Macron. Most of the files cover the years between the mid-2000s and 2011 or 2012. 3,630 documents relate to centre-right presidential hopeful Fillon, whose popularity ratings have dropped recently amid the ongoing scandal over an allegation that his wife Penelope unfairly received over €900,000 (£775,000) as his ‘parliamentary assistant’. Fillon, who fiercely denies claims of wrongdoing, stated that he would quit the race if placed under formal investigation. Meanwhile Marine Le Pen, who appeals strongly to disenfranchised voters and those who feel threatened by a multicultural society, has been accused of wrongfully employing her chief of staff and her bodyguard as her assistants at the European Parliament. They might have been paid up to €350,000 (£300,000) from the parliament's funds. Fillon and Le Pen are currently almost neck and neck in the race, with Macron not far behind, according to the latest surveys.