The far-right wins big in France, but young people swing left

Last month Emmanual Macron – the president of France – called a snap election after his party lost to the far-right National Rally party in European parliament elections. It was an idea so crazy it just might have worked… but sadly it did not: after the first round of voting last night, the far-right are closer to assuming power in France than ever before.

The National Rally won the largest share of the vote (34.4 per cent), followed by the New Popular Front – a new coalition of left-wing parties, ranging from moderate social democrats to communists – which won 27.9 per cent.  Macron’s party – Renaissance – came a distant third, winning only 20.7 per cent of the vote. The President has become increasingly unpopular in recent years, thanks to his slashing of corporate taxes,  pension reforms which increased the age at which people can retire,  a fuel-tax so controversial it sparked a protest movement, and a widespread perception that he is arrogant and out-of-touch.

While there has been a lot of discussion lately about the burgeoning popularity of the far-right among young people in France, this turned out to be the only age group which has bucked the overall trend. According to polling conducted on the day, 41 per cent of people aged between 18-34 voted for the left-wing coalition. The 25-34 demographic were more likely to vote for National Rally than those aged between 18-24 (at 28 per cent versus 23 per cent), but across the board the results showed a clear preference for the left. After the results were announced, thousands of left-leaning activists stormed the streets of Paris to protest.

However, young people were significantly more likely to vote for the far-right than the centrist coalition (only 13% did so.) If it comes down to a choice between the centre and the far-right at the next stage of voting, as it will in some constituencies, it’s unclear whether young people will show up for Macron. 

There is still a chance to stop National Rally from winning the majority it needs to implement its extreme policies. These include banning people with dual citizenship from serving in sensitive government posts, getting rid of the automatic right to French citizenship for children with foreign-born parents, formally discriminating against immigrants in housing, social welfare and employment, and, in time, working towards banning Muslim women from wearing head-scarves in public. 

Due to the nature of France’s voting system, 76 candidates have already won the election outright, which means there are 501 seats still to play for in the next stage.. There is a renewed call for tactical voting to prevent National Rally from winning a majority, and several candidates are likely to step down in order to avoid splitting the vote. Whatever happens in the second round of voting on July 7th, young people will play a key role in the outcome.