Letters: Left-wing euphoria in France is dampened by political reality
Connexion reader believes the media hype over recent election results does not reflect the political reality for voters
Jean-Luc Mélenchon should not be as elated with his 'victory' as he has been, this reader believes
Victor Joly / Shutterstock
To the Editor,
Despite exaggerated media headlines and announcements the French election result is not a victory for the left.
Their group, which existed in the previous elections and is made up of different parties with different political agendas, obtained 151 seats in 2022 and increased to 180 this time.
Melenchon’s party, the LFI, actually lost 4 seats. Hardly a massive swing and it has left them with 35% of the vote which is no way near a mandate to govern.
If groups of different parties count in terms of political blocks, then Macron’s party (which went from 250 in 2022 to 162 this time) could form a group with the Les Républicains - 67 seats (up from 62 in 20222).
Read more: Why this week should clarify (a bit) the political situation in France
This would give them 229 seats which is more than the left group and thus they would become the largest group in the parliament and justify forming a government.
The leading individual party is in fact the Rassemblement National with 143 seats. if it is parties which count rather than groups the next PM should come from the RN.
The results show that over 65% of the electorate voted for the centre or right parties, not the left and the result does not justify the euphoria of Melenchon or his outrageous claims to be PM when his own party achieved less than 13% of the vote.
Peter Fieldman, Paris, vie email
