PARIS — French voters will return to the polls on July 7 for the runoff of a snap legislative election that could bring a far-right government to power just weeks before the opening of the Paris Olympics.
The first round of voting Sunday placed the anti-immigration National Rally party in the lead to win more seats than any other party in the next 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. But the right-wing party, guided by Marine Le Pen and her protégé, Jordan Bardella, could be hard-pressed to secure the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority.
After polls closed at 8 p.m. Sunday, the National Rally emerged with roughly one-third of the votes. The New Popular Front, a united left-wing bloc, came in second with 28 percent, and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance fell in third place at 22 percent. But races are decided within individual districts, so while national shares offer an idea of how much popular support exists for each group, they do not confirm the ultimate composition of the National Assembly.
If Le Pen’s party succeeds in securing a majority, Bardella, 28, would replace Gabriel Attal as prime minister and Macron would be forced to share power.
If they don’t — likely leaving no alliance or party with a clear mandate to form a government — French politics could fall further into disarray.
