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 has said he won't resign no matter the result, the New York Times reports, but a new majority of lawmakers aligned against the president would force him to name a political opponent as prime minister. At 5pm, the Interior Ministry said, turnout was more than 59%.
For the first time since the Nazi era, a nationalist, far-right parties could come into control of the government. Macron and his centrist alliance, Together for the Republic, also face a threat from a new coalition on the left, per the AP. The New Popular Front includes the French Socialists and Communists, the greens, and the hard-left France Unbowed party. The allies want to toss Macron's pension changes that raised the retirement age to 64. A possible outcome is that no clear majority emerges, which could put France in for months of deadlock and turmoil. Macron, who gambled by calling this vote after the far right's success in European Parliament elections, will not be able to call another for a year.
The second round of French voting will be July 7. Few of the 577 races are likely to be settled in the first round, per the Washington Post. So although it will be a week or so before the nation knows whether the far-right National Rally has enough seats to form a government and install Jordan Bardella as prime minister, the first round will give an indication of the extent to which voters will boost populists on the right and radicals on the left at the expense of Macron's centrists. Official results will be released throughout Sunday night. Independent projections, which the Times notes are usually reliable, will start coming in mid-evening, which is mid-afternoon Eastern time. (More French elections stories.)
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