France's political parties are looking to build a united front aimed at blocking the path to government for Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) after it made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election. The second round of voting is scheduled for July 7.
Mabel Berezin, professor of sociology and an expert on international populism, says Macron’s miscalculation in calling snap elections has opened the door to a right-wing sweep.
“In three short weeks Le Pen’s party went from 88 seats in the Assembly to 280 seats. Jason Bardella, Marine Le Pen’s young protégé, is on his way to possibly becoming Prime Minister," says Berezin.
“There is still a second-round vote next Sunday which will determine the final make-up of the Assembly. There is no question that the RN will dominate—the only question is how that will work out in terms of number of seats.
“In the meanwhile, Macron missed the handwriting on the wall—he missed the wall itself. Arrogance is not a good governing strategy. Tonight, there are riots throughout France protesting the National Reunion. And re-enforcing Le Pen’s narrative that France under Macron is chaotic and disorderly,” Berezin says.
For interviews contact Adam Allington at 231-620-7180 or adam.allington@cornell.edu.
