French elections

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France's New Government Tilts Right, Reflecting Election

Protests greet prime minister's lineup

(Newser) - The French presidential palace unveiled a new center-right government on Saturday, more than two months after elections that produced a hung parliament and deepened political divisions as France grapples with economic and diplomatic challenges. Conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier put together the government after weeks of difficult negotiations, and President...

Projections Show Far Right Shut Out of Power in France

No party appears to be headed toward a majority, making deadlock possible

(Newser) - France's populist, anti-immigration party appears to have been unable to repeat its success in the first round of the legislative election, with the first projections after polls closed Sunday showing left-wing and centrist parties blocking the National Rally from taking power. The final results of the runoff may vary,...

Far Right Swamping Macron's Centrists So Far

Projections show president's party could come in a distant third in elections' first round

(Newser) - France's high-stakes legislative elections propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong but not decisive lead in the first-round vote Sunday, polling agencies projected. At this rate, President Emmanuel Macron's grouping of centrist parties could finish a distant third in the first-round ballot, the AP reports. That alliance...

Marcon's Gamble Draws Heavy Turnout
Macron's Gamble Draws
Heavy Turnout
Jun 30, 2024 11:10 AM CDT

Macron's Gamble Draws Heavy Turnout

Elections could leave president weakened by far right or left and the nation in political deadlock

(Newser) - Voter turnout in France on Sunday was running historically high—reflecting the stakes and interest in elections that could weaken Emmanuel Macron's presidency and have major effects on domestic and foreign policy. All 577 seats in the lower and more critical house of Parliament are up for grabs. Macron...

French Crowds Protest Rise of Far Right

Left-wing parties form coalition despite differences on wars

(Newser) - Anti-racism groups joined French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France on Saturday against the surging nationalist far right, with frenzied campaigning having begun ahead of snap parliamentary elections . The French Interior Ministry said 250,000 people turned out to protest, 75,000 of...

After Defeat, Macron Faces Pressure to Build a Bloc

Parties at the extremes call for prime minister to resign

(Newser) - Update: France's opposition parties called on President Emmanuel Macron to assemble a coalition to fill the void after parliamentary elections left him without a majority on Sunday. Macron is unlikely to be able to pass his agenda, Reuters reports, unless he finds support elsewhere. The far right and far...

Macron Clashes With Le Pen in Key Debate

Polls show Macron came out on top, though many voters consider him 'arrogant'

(Newser) - Watching presidential debates and getting rid of incumbents are both popular activities in France, so the stakes were very high for French President Emmanuel Macron in his televised debate against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Wednesday night. The second-round face-off is "seen as the time when presidential destinies...

Challenger's Surge in France Worries US, Probably Ukraine

Marine Le Pen has closed in on Emmanuel Macron as she's toned down her rhetoric

(Newser) - Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared "a huge victory" this week that will keep him in office as Hungary's prime minister. Now White House officials are beginning to worry that another friend of Putin's could take over a US ally. Polls show that French President Emmanuel Macron and...

Anti-Racism Activists Beaten at Far-Right Rally

French candidate holds first campaign event, drawing demonstrators

(Newser) - Anti-racism activists were beaten up Sunday as far-right former French TV pundit Eric Zemmour held his first presidential campaign rally near Paris, a few days after he formally declared his candidacy in a video highlighting his anti-migrant and anti-Islam views. Zemmour has drawn comparisons in France to Donald Trump because...

Macron's Victory Was a 'Political Earthquake' for France

Macron has to govern a deeply divided nation

(Newser) - The pollsters were wrong once again with France's presidential runoff election but there was no surprise result this time: Emmanuel Macron defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen 66% to 34%, a much bigger margin than the 20 points that had been predicted, Reuters reports. But 34% was still a...

France Just Elected Its Youngest President Ever

But headwinds face Emmanuel Macron

(Newser) - Emmanuel Macron will be France's next president, putting a 39-year-old political novice at the helm of one of the world's biggest economies and slowing a global populist wave. Polling agencies projected that Macron defeated far-right leader Marine Le Pen 65% to 35% on Sunday. Macron will be the...

As France Votes, Louvre Is Evacuated

Suspicious bag left outside courtyard where Macron planned to celebrate

(Newser) - Emmanuel Macron's campaign press office says a suspicious bag that prompted the evacuation of the courtyard outside the Louvre museum where the centrist French presidential candidate has planned to celebrate election night. Macron's team said a press room had been set up at the downtown Paris location and...

11th-Hour Twist in French Election: Faked Documents

Forgeries purportedly show Macron was involved with Caribbean bank

(Newser) - Allegations of fake news and hacking attempts dominated France's tense presidential campaign Thursday, with just two days left for independent Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen to win over voters before Sunday's high-stakes runoff. Macron's campaign filed suit against unknown source "X''...

Le Pen, Macron Clash in Ill-Tempered Debate

He called her the 'high priestess of fear'

(Newser) - The only face-to-face televised debate between France's presidential candidates turned into an uncivil, no-holds-barred head-on clash of styles, politics, and personalities Wednesday. Emmanuel Macron called his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen a "parasite" who would lead the country into civil war. She painted the former banker as a...

2 Outsiders Will Battle for French Presidency
Sunday's Vote 'Humiliated'
French Party Politics
THE RUNDOWN
Apr 24, 2017 6:34 AM CDT

Sunday's Vote 'Humiliated' French Party Politics

2 outsiders will compete in runoff vote

(Newser) - The election results in France are now final, confirming the political earthquake that has just taken place: Centrist Emmanuel Macron took 23.8% of votes in the first round, with 21.5% for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, the BBC reports. The two candidates will compete for the presidency in...

France Votes: 11 Candidates, Evacuation, Topless Protesters

It could be a wild day in Round 1 of election

(Newser) - A voting station in eastern France has reopened after being evacuated because of a suspicious vehicle parked nearby. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told the AP that the voting station in Besancon was evacuated while explosives experts examined the car, but they deemed there to be no risk. He said...

Leftist Who Uses Holograms Rising Sharply in French Polls

Surprising ascent of Jean-Luc Melenchon in presidential race is rattling France

(Newser) - Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and independent Emmanuel Macron have been drawing the lion's share of attention as the French presidential election nears (the first round is April 23 ), but a leftist candidate who has used a hologram of himself to stump at campaign rallies is now gaining...

Socialists Secure Majority in France

Strong showing leaves Francois Hollande free to implement policy

(Newser) - As predicted , the left coalition led by the Socialist Party has cruised to a majority win in the National Assembly's lower house, taking 314 of 577 seats, reports the Wall Street Journal . The win gives the Socialists, who already control the upper-house Senate, total control of the National Assembly—...

As Sarkozy Exits, US Loses a Friend

...But François Hollande might be even more simpatico with Obama administration

(Newser) - France's election was something of a can't-lose proposition for the Obama administration. On the one hand, the US isn't pleased to see the backside of Nicolas Sarkozy, an ally so steadfast that in France he was sometimes called "Sarko the American." Sarkozy, after all, was...

Europe Finally Gets It: Austerity Isn't the Answer

Paul Krugman: Voters clearly 'wiser' than their leaders

(Newser) - Paul Krugman is applauding France and Greece for the results of their elections : "Time is clearly running out for the strategy of recovery through austerity—and that’s a good thing," writes the longtime critic of austerity measures in the New York Times . Austerity measures depend on a...

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