The desistance was successful e the absolute majority for Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella's Rassemblement National he leaves.
The deadline for submitting lists closed on Tuesday at 18pm will participate in the second round of the French elections scheduled for Sunday 7 July. And at the end of the games 218 candidates who came third or fourth in their constituencies, but still passed the ballot, they accepted the call to "desist" launched by President Emmanuel Macron to push the “Republican Front” and prevent the Rassemblement National from achieving the much desired absolute majority. However, 81 triangulations and 2 quadrangulars remain to be addressed.
Ballot in France: desistance succeeded
From the first round there were 4 quadrangular results and well 306 triangular, the largest number of three-way ballots in the history of the French Fifth Republic. For days there had therefore been calls for center or left-wing candidates who came third to take a step back in order to prevent the rise of the Rassemblement National, which in the first round was the leading party with over 33% of the votes. The triangulations would in fact have been held between the candidates of the right, who often came first, and those of the New Popular Front and Ensamble, the coalition led by President Macron, who alternated in second and third place in many constituencies. Transforming triangle matches into duels, the votes of the center and the left will be concentrated on a single candidate (or at least this is the hope) that he would have a better chance of defeating his right-wing rival.
In many cases the appeals were successful and in France he was back on his feet the Republican Front, that political reflex that for decades united the forces opposing the far right to prevent first Jean-Marie, then Marine Le Pen, from coming to power.
For the Rassemblement National the absolute majority is receding
With desistance, according to most analysts, the absolute majority for the Rassemblement National is receding. Thanks to the 218 steps backwards, 130 of which came from the left of the New Popular Front and 82 from the Macronians and the majority united under the Ensemble label, the triangular ones, where Le Pen hoped to win the greatest number of seats, were reduced from 306 to 81 (2 quadrangulars are added) e one-on-one clashes have risen to 190.
The controversies between Macron and Le Pen
Yesterday was therefore crucial, but until 18pm, the deadline for submitting the lists, chaos reigned, peppered with a strong dose of controversy.
Particularly tense situation within the Macron camp, where the testimonies from the government meeting convened at the Elysée were dramatic. In fact, Macron and Attal put pressure on ministers and undersecretaries to desist in the constituencies where they had come third. According to French newspapers, five said no, while another five ministers accepted the appeal.
Meanwhile, from the right, the attack came Le Pen who accused Macron of an "administrative coup" for a series of appointments (police and gendarmerie leaders) that he would like to announce after that of the European commissioner, Thierry Breton, to precede the advent of the far right in government. The French president responded in kind, inviting his opponent to "keep a cool head".
In the evening, after the announcement of the 218 anti-RN withdrawals, Jordan Bardella instead he told Le Figaro: "We are the true Republican Front", the one that was formed is “the alliance of dishonor”. Then, showing off confidence, he added: “We will have an absolute majority. Politics comes in waves, the one it is bringing us is powerful."
