France's Macron loses absolute majority in legislative elections

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble alliance on Sunday suffered a huge setback as his political coalition failed to secure an absolute majority in the legislative elections, putting the presidential majority at the risk of forging alliances with other parties.

Multiple exit polls of the second round results projected Macron’s Ensemble (Together) alliance in the lead but way below the golden mark of 289 seats, necessary to form the parliamentary majority.

According to polling firm Elabe estimates for BFMTV and L'Express news, Macron’s camp will win between 205 and 235 seats in the National Assembly while France 24 has projected 224 seats.

The low numbers put Macron in a tight spot to assemble a majority which will be crucial to continuing his government’s second-term agenda.

The main challenger to Macron’s coalition, the newly formed left-wing political coalition, NUPES (New Ecological and Social Popular Union) led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, is estimated to win between 149 and 190 seats.

The left parties together will form the main opposition force.

The surprise wildcard winner of these results is far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally which is expected to win anywhere between 75 to 95 seats, a huge win from the current eight seats in the national assembly.

The socialist party Les Republicains, which performed poorly in the recently concluded presidential elections, is likely to win around 60-70 seats.