First round of regional elections in France: bad result for Le Pen party

In regional elections, Resemblement National loses, but can win a single region for the first time. Bourgeois Orthodoxy became the strongest force. President Macron’s party was coming to an end.

The French right-wing party of Marine Le Pen suffered significant losses in the first round of regional elections. As reported by French TV broadcaster France 2, citing early estimates, The Resemblement National came second with about 19 percent of the vote. So the strongest force was the bourgeois-conservative camp which got a good 28 per cent votes. President Emmanuel Macron’s LREM party just finished fifth.

In the last regional elections in December 2015, Le Pen’s party emerged victorious in the first round and received 27.7 percent of the vote. In the second round, however, they failed to win one of the French territories for themselves.

Macron party in fifth place

This time the party sees a majority opportunity in an area for the first time in the Provence-Alpes-Cte-d’Azur region. RN boss Le Pen attributed the performance to the extremely low turnout and called for a “civil disaster”.

By estimates, the traditional People’s Party of Socialists and Partners voted for it about 16 percent. Along with civil rights, they currently represent the regional president in most regions. The Green Camp got about 13 percent ahead of Macron’s LREM party. With liberal allies, some of whom are better anchored in the country, the party fell to around 11 percent, falling behind in fifth place. With an estimated 31 to 34 per cent, the turnout is likely to hit historic highs.

Second round on 27th June

As the final nationwide decision before the presidential elections in April and May, regional and departmental elections also serve as a test of mood. Le Pen is expected to have a relatively strong performance in the presidential elections. Due to the very different competencies of the central government and the regions, the result is of only limited importance, for example with regard to Macron’s support among the population.

The second round will run on June 27. Until then, the parties can form new coalitions to mobilize more votes. Elections in the mainland and abroad were originally scheduled for March, but have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.