BBC: How likely is France to wake up on Monday morning to a new far-right dawn?
That was the garishly painted, hotly debated scenario in media headlines, the EU in Brussels and seats of government across Europe following the first round of France’s parliamentary vote last week.
But despite the spectacular showing by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, the short answer is: an RN majority is possible. Not probable.
French centrist and leftist parties have strategically withdrawn candidates to bolster each other’s contenders ahead of Sunday’s decisive second round.
But the impact of this election will be seismic, whether or not the RN wins an outright majority - or whether Jordan Bardella, its social media-savvy young president, becomes France’s new prime minister.
Polls predict RN is all but guaranteed to win more seats than any other political grouping.>br />
That means a decades-old taboo will have been shattered in France, a core EU nation. » | Katya Adler, Europe editor | Sunday, July 7, 2024
