Left Wins But Right Gains After French Elections

France's snap legislative election on Sunday, July 7, 2024 has resulted in a hung parliament with no majority and instead will be shaped by three main political blocs. With 180 seats, the left-wing New Popular Front coalition unexpectedly became the leading political force in the National Assembly, overtaking the presidential party (Ensemble), which won just 163 seats, 82 fewer than the 245 it won two years ago. In third place, the National Rally, formerly the National Front, and its LR allies won only 143 seats, according to the final results released by the Ministry of the Interior. However, with more than 30 percent of the votes cast in both the first and second rounds, the far-right party continued to gain ground, recording a gain of 54 seats on the 89 it won in 2022.

With a turnout of 66.7 percent of registered voters heading to the polls in the first round and 66.6 percent in the second (compared with 47.5 percent and 46.2 percent respectively in 2022), the turnout was the highest for a legislative election since 1997. As for female representation in parliament, there are 369 men and 208 women (36 percent) in the new National Assembly, a lower share of women than in the 2022 and 2017 legislative elections (37 percent and 40 percent respectively).