Emmanuel Macron alliance projected to lose parliamentary majority

Paris, June 19

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President Emmanuel Macron is on course to lose his absolute majority in the National Assembly and control of his reform agenda after the first projections by four pollsters showed Sunday’s election delivering a hung parliament. Macron’s centrist Ensemble! alliance was set to end up with the most seats, the polls show, followed by the left-wing Nupes bloc headed by hard left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Forecasts by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed Ensemble! winning 200-260 seats and Nupes securing 149-200. The threshold for an absolute majority is 289 seats in the lower House.

A hung parliament would open up a period of political uncertainty that would require a degree of power-sharing among parties, or else result in political paralysis and even repeat elections. If the outcome is confirmed, Macron’s ability to pursue further reform of the Euro zone’s second biggest economy will hinge on his ability to rally moderates outside of his alliance behind his agenda.

In April, Macron (44) became the first French President in two decades to win a second term, but he presides over a deeply disenchanted and divided country where support for populist parties on the right and left has surged. — Reuters