Bardella rues 'dishonorable alliance' as far-right set to fall short in France election

(7 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
AP VIA AGENCY POOL (AFP)
Paris, France - 7 July 2024
1. Wide of Jordan Bardella, President of the National Rally arriving on stage
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Jordan Bardella, President of National Rally: "Unfortunately the dishonorable alliance and the dangerous electoral deals made by Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal with groups from the Far Left tonight deprives the French of policies that would fix France that had put us in the lead in the European elections and then last Sunday during the first round with near 34 percent of the vote. Tonight, these electoral deals have thrown France into the arms of the Far Left of Jean Luc Melenchon."
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3. SOUNDBITE (French) Jordan Bardella, President of National Rally:
"Depriving millions of French people of the possibility of seeing their idea brought to power will never be a viable destiny for France. Tonight, by assuming to deliberately paralyse our institutions, Emmanuel Macron has not simply pushed the country toward uncertainty and instability, he is depriving, as a result and for many months the French, of any solutions to their daily problems. Amid a full purchasing power crisis, while uncertainty and disorder is harshly hitting the country, France see itself deprived of a majority government to act and therefore a clear direction to fix France."
STORYLINE:
A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil.
The projections put President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second, no longer in control of parliament, and the bruised far right in third.
Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's 28-year-old protégé who'd been hoping to become prime minister, rued that the outcome of the vote.
With no bloc securing a clear majority, France faces uncertainty that could rattle markets and its economy, the European Union's second-largest, and cast a shadow of political instability over the Paris Olympics opening in less than three weeks.
Final results are not expected until late Sunday or early Monday in the highly volatile snap election that redrew the political map of France even before votes were cast, galvanizing parties on the left to put differences aside and join together when Macron announced just four weeks ago that he was dissolving parliament and calling the election, in a huge gamble that the president hoped would shore up his centrist alliance.
It does not appear to have paid off for the deeply unpopular president. Projections forecast that his alliance would no longer be the largest single group in parliament, possibly by a long way. The National Rally party of Marine Le Pen greatly increased the number of seats it holds, but fell far short of its hopes of securing an absolute majority that would have given France its first far-right government since World War II.
In Paris’ Stalingrad square, supporters on the left cheered and applauded as projections showing the alliance ahead flashed up on a giant screen. Cries of joy also rang out in Republique plaza in eastern Paris, with people spontaneously hugging strangers and several minutes of nonstop applause after the projections landed.
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