A series of candidates withdraw in an effort to stop the far-right party in France

Reuters reported that more than 180 candidates running for the French parliament have confirmed that they will not participate in the second round of elections on July 7. Others have until 6 p.m. on July 2 to make their decision.

This is an effort by the parties to prevent the far-right, anti-immigration, Eurosceptic National Rally (RN) party of Ms. Marine Le Pen from winning a majority of seats in the 577-seat parliament.

Marine Le Pen at the RN party headquarters in Paris on July 2.

RN is expected to be in the lead after the first round on June 30. The election was called early by President Emmanuel Macron and was a risky gamble by the leader after his centrist coalition was defeated by RN in the previous European Parliament elections.

Projected results show that Mr. Macron's forces only ranked third, behind the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP).

It is not yet clear whether the RN can win a majority, or 289 seats, to take control of parliament, but other parties have been rushing to build a "republican front" in the past 24 hours to prevent that possibility.

Parties are withdrawing their candidates and mobilizing voters to support whichever candidate is most likely to defeat their RN opponent.

"The game is not over. We have to mobilize all our forces," Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo told France 2.

It is unclear whether President Macron's allies will withdraw from local elections to support better-placed rival candidates, if those candidates are from Jean-Luc Melenchon's far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

However, President Macron said at a cabinet meeting on July 1 that the priority was to prevent the RN from reaching power and that LFI candidates could be supported if necessary.

According to Reuters, the "republican front" was as effective as in the 2002 election, when voters from many factions unanimously supported Jacques Chirac to defeat Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen, in the French presidential election.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal answers questions from the press during a campaign trip in Paris on July 2.

However, it is uncertain whether current voters are ready to follow what political leaders tell them, while Marine Le Pen has made efforts to soften the image of the RN in the eyes of millions of voters.

On July 2, Ms. Le Pen announced that she would not try to form a government if RN and its allies did not have a majority that could operate effectively in parliament.

Faced with the prospect of no party winning a majority of seats, politicians have proposed a variety of options for the remainder of Macron's term. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has suggested a temporary coalition of traditional left, right and centrist parties to pass legislation in the new parliament. Xavier Bertrand, a senior member of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party, has called for a "caretaker government" to govern until the next presidential election in 2027.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hang-loat-ung-vien-rut-lui-trong-no-luc-ngan-chan-dang-cuc-huu-tai-phap-185240702172043689.htm