France is holding snap parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7 in the wake of the far-right’s landslide victory in the EU elections. We follow the political twists and turns day by day along with reactions of the party leaders, candidates and other figures.
Elections for the 577 deputés (MPs) in the Assemblée nationale, the lower chamber of the French parliament, were not expected until 2027.
President Macron surprised many by dissolving the Assemblée nationale after the crushing defeat of his party in the European parliamentary elections on June 9.
The major political parties have been making (and breaking) alliances, plans and promises since the announcement as they scramble to prepare for the first round of voting.
Read more: Programmes, dates, risks: a guide to France's snap elections
June 27
Polls put RN far ahead
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The RN is the leading party for the upcoming legislative elections according to the most recent poll* by public service broadcaster FranceInfo.
The far-right party – and its allies from the Les Républicains group – are at 36%, compared to the next highest, the Nouveau Front Populaire, at 29%.
President Macron’s Renaissance party is a distant third at 19.5%
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Even without the support of the traditional conservative right-wing Les Républicains party, the RN are leading the poll at 32%.
The new poll places support for the RN at 0.5% higher than in FranceInfo’s previous poll on Saturday (June 22), in which it was also the leading party.
When questioned, 60% of voters believe the RN will be the largest party in the Assemblée nationale after July 7, but only one-fifth think they will gain an absolute majority of seats in the chamber.
The poll also asked people which word they would use to describe President Macon’s dissolution of the National Assembly. The most common word – for 26% of respondents – was ‘incomprehension’.
The next highest words were ‘hope’ (24%), fear (21%), and indifference (10%).
*Ipsos online poll published on June 26 commissioned by Radio France, France TV, Le Monde, Sciences Po Cevipof, l'Institut Montaigne and la Fondation Jean-Jaurès of 11 820 voters performed between June 21 and 24.
Finance minister says both left and right ‘as harmful as each other’ for economy
Current finance minister Bruno Le Maire hit out at both the left and right alliances, saying they will be “as harmful as each other” for the French economy if they get into power.
He said that “seven years of work on the economy [under President Macron] would be destroyed in seven days,” if either the RN or Nouveau Front Populaire gain power.
“What the programmes of the two extremes have in common is that they work less to earn more, that they renounce work and the power of work, and that they destroy the nation of production that we were in the process of recreating with our parliamentary majority,” he told BFMTV.
The minister said he was not calling the parties equal in other matters, but “that in the functions that are mine: the economic and financial voice for your purchasing power that they propose to you is an immense illusion that will disappoint you.”
Ministers are appointed by the President of the Republic, however, Mr Le Maire held a seat for Eure's first constituency until 2017. He is not standing for re-election.
Communist party call for ‘Republican Front’ in second round
The French Communist Party has called on its members to vote against anyone who is not part of the far-right in the second round of the election.
“In all duels between a ‘republican’ candidate and a candidate from the far right, we will call for a vote for the former,” it said in a press release.
“If [A Communist Party] candidate finds themselves qualified for the second round in third place [but far behind], he/she will withdraw so that the best-placed Republican candidate has the best chance of beating the far right,” it added.
The party is nominally part of the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire alliance, but is the first group within the bloc to announce such a policy.
In French politics, the ‘Republican Front’ is the idea of voting for any candidate that does not belong to the far-right (most likely the Rassemblement National) to prevent them from winning a seat.
It came to prominence in 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen surprisingly made his way to the second round of the presidential election, finishing with the second-highest vote share.
All other major parties called on their members to vote for Jacques Chirac, including leftist groups, leading to Mr Chirac winning around 80% of votes.
Current president Emmanuel Macron also called on the front during the second round of the 2017 and 2022 presidential campaign, when he was up against Mr Le Pen’s daughter, Marine.
June 26
Leading Les Républicains member quits party
The former vice-president of the right-wing Les Républcains Aurélien Pradié announced his departure from the party this morning, saying the party is ‘dead.’
He said that Gaullism – the founding political ethos behind the party – was “more alive than ever [but] the party to which I belonged is dead and is no longer capable of speaking to the French people,” to La Dépêche.
The politician – running for re-election as an MP in the Lot – was a vociferous opponent of party president Eric Ciotti’s attempts to forge an electoral alliance between the party and the far-right RN.
He will lead around 30 other candidates previously set to run for Les Républicains – including ten sitting MPs – as part of a micro-party labelled ‘Du courage’, although some of the candidates will officially be labelled as having no political affiliation on voting ballots.
Mr Pradié was removed from his role as vice-president by Mr Ciotti when he broke party lines and voted in favour of a motion of no-confidence against president Emmanuel Macron during the 2023 pension reform debate.
RN 'would not use' Article 49.3 to pass laws
The RN would not use the controversial article 49.3 to bypass parliament and implement laws, an outgoing MP of the party has confirmed.
“We will respect Parliament's time… and we will respect parliamentary representation,” said MP Julien Odoul to FranceInfo.
The 49.3 order allows the government to push through certain legislation without a parliamentary vote on the matter.
Previously used on occasion for financial bills and social security budgets, the measure came to prominence during the 2023 pension reforms.
It was used by the minority government to push through changes that could not garner enough cross-party support
However, Mr Odoul said even if the RN only won a relative majority, and not enough seats to control the chamber outright, it would not use the measure to pass legislation.
Read more: What is France’s article 49.3?
Postal workers on strike over election deliveries
Workers at La Poste are on strike over the delivery of election letters and pamphlets, demanding a bonus for the increased workload during the campaign.
Unions are demanding two bonuses totalling €1,100 for work during the election period, with postal workers saying workloads can triple due to the volume of election manifestoes.
La Poste has assured voters that election-related material should arrive before both rounds of voting.
Read more: French postal workers strike over increased election workload
June 25
Massive increase in proxy votes
Over a million proxy votes (procurations) have already been cast for the first round of the legislative elections on Sunday (June 30), the Interior Ministry has announced.
The 1,377,105 votes were issued in a less-than two-week span, between June 10 and June 23.
This is nearly 6 times the total number of proxy votes cast during the 2022 elections in the weeks leading up to the vote.
Fewest candidates in over 30 years
The number of candidates competing in the first round is the lowest in over 35 years.
There are only 4,010 candidates across the 577 seats up for grabs – more than 2,000 fewer than the 2022 elections, when 6,290 candidates stood, and 4,000 fewer than in 2002 (8,442 candidates).
The last time there were fewer candidates in a legislative election was in 1988 when 2,843 candidates were on the first round of the ballot.
The number of candidates will naturally drop for the second round, with only those who gain at least 12.5% of the vote this Sunday progressing.
The lower number is in part due to the short campaigning period, with candidates having less time to sign-up.
However, it is also due to the number of alliances in this year’s election.
Parties within the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire have promised to refrain from competing with one another for seats, significantly reducing the number of candidates from the traditionally fractured left of the political spectrum.
The alliances mean that in 2024, there are nearly 150 seats where there are only five candidates or fewer in the first round – in 2022, there was only 1 seat where voters had such limited choice.
First televised debate with three main parties
The first televised debate involving candidates from all three major electoral pacts will air tonight at 21:00 on TF1.
Jordan Bardella and Gabriel Attal – who have already debated prior to this – will be joined by Manuel Bompard, candidate for the Nouveau Front Populaire and spokesperson for the La France Insoumise group inside the bloc.
Whilst the latter is not the bloc’s prime ministerial candidate, he has been chosen to debate on its behalf.
Ciotti announced 'agreement' with RN on pension reform
Leader of right-wing Les Républicains Eric Ciotti announced that he has come to an agreement with the RN over reforms in the retirement ages for ‘early workers’, although the parties still disagree on points over further pension reforms.
Mr Ciotti said a deal had been reached that would “ensure that those who started working very young, before the age of 20, and who have 40 years of pensionable service, can retire at 60.”
MPs from the party could help push the RN gain an absolute majority in the Assemblée nationale if they are willing to vote in line with the far right.
Mr Ciotti claims an alliance between the two parties is in place, but not all Les Républicains candidates agree.
June 24
Macron pens letter to French over election decision
French president Emmanuel Macron published an open letter to French people on Sunday (June 23), explaining his reasons for calling a snap election and imploring people to vote for his party.
In the letter – published in a number of newspapers – the president states he “heard people wanted things to change” in the wake of the European elections earlier in the month, where the RN won a resounding victory.
He said the country had a “democratic malaise” and “the way [France is governed] must be profoundly changed.”
He followed on by reinforcing a number of his party’s policy points – a focus on social justice, fighting discrimination, and improving children’s welfare.
In addition, the president promised a government that would “bring together republicans of different persuasions who have shown courage in opposing the extremes [of both left and right].”
Yaël Braun-Pivet, head of the National Assembly before it was dissolved, said this republican coalition was “not an option… but an obligation, to preserve the France we love.”
Macron’s coalition is trailing in third place, behind the New Popular Front and RN parties, according to a number of polls.
Debate continues over left-wing PM candidate
The Nouveau Front Populaire is still to officially declare a prime ministerial candidate, as various factions of the party take aim at each other over the prized position.
Jean-Luc-Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise – the party’s largest political bloc – said he was “obviously” one of the main candidates during an interview on French TV on Saturday (June 22).
In response, former president François Hollande – who is a candidate for the left-wing alliance in Corrèze – said Mr Mélenchon “needs to step aside and keep his mouth shut” about becoming prime minister in the event of the group’s victory.
This morning, Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party (also in the alliance) confirmed that Mr Mélénchon was not the group’s candidate.
“No. I'm saying it clearly and I'm saying it to Jean-Luc Mélenchon: nobody can proclaim themselves prime minister,” he said to France Bleu.
If the party wins a majority, “the decision to choose a prime minister when the time comes will be made with the MPs elected by the Nouveau Front Populaire,” Mr Roussel added.
Mr Mélenchon is a divisive figure amongst the left, known for his abrasive politics.
Manuel Bompard of La France Insoumise will represent the coalition during televised debates against Mr Attal (current PM) and Jordan Bardella, leader of the RN.
Charities warn of precariousness in event of RN victory
The head of the Abbé Pierre foundation has said an RN victory would be ‘dangerous’ for numerous charities and social support networks in the country.
Manuel Domergues, who heads the well-known charity, said the RN “has always attacked foreigners, immigrants and other minorities of all kinds.”
In the event of RN having an absolute majority, a “reduction of rights,” for these minorities could follow, and “it will have a direct impact on poverty and social violence, and therefore on the associations that come to the aid of the victims,” he said to Huffington Post.
In particular, the expansion of ‘national priority’ – the RN’s flagship policy that would see French citizens receive preference for housing, benefits, and employment – may legally trickle down to associations that work in these areas.
“We run boarding houses, which are places where people who have lived on the streets in the past are welcomed. If we were to exclude foreign nationals from them, it would be very disturbing and would raise serious ethical issues,” Mr Domergues added.
Others fear an RN government would strip certain charities of state funding, effectively preventing them from continuing their work.
In some of the areas where local councils or mairie’s are headed by the RN, funding for some charities has been cancelled, and barriers put up to stop new charity work beginning, said Vincent de Lahaye, who heads a charity helping those suffering from poverty in Vaucluse.
"If the government turned far-right, what support would we have left? We have sponsors and volunteers, but how far can the private sector go in the fight against poverty?” he said.
RN announce main policy points
Leader of the RN Jordan Bardella went into more detail on the party’s election pledges, focusing on immigration as well as a number of other key areas.
A focus on education (including banning mobile phones in schools), and cutting daily living costs – notably via cutting VAT for energy costs.
The party also want to enact sweeping changes to taxation, including an end to income tax (outside of social charges) for under-30s.
Read more: French parliamentary elections: What are the main parties’ policies?
June 21
Former PM says time to move on from Macronism
Former prime minister Édouard Philippe has claimed that Emmanuel Macron had “killed the presidential majority” with his call for snap legislative elections.
“He dissolved it himself… it was not [other people in Macron’s party] who upset him [or caused it to happen],” said Mr Philippe, who served as prime minister under Mr Macron between 2017 and 2020, to TF1 during an interview on Thursday (June 20) evening.
He hinted that a new centrist majority was now needed in the National Assembly, and that the centrists needed to “move on to something else,” past Macronism – the colloquial name for Mr Macron’s policies and tenure.
“It can't be exactly the same as before,” the current mayor of Le Havre added.
Mr Philippe has previously announced that he is “prepared” to run for the presidency in 2027
'I would rather RN in in 2024 than in 2027'
Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call the snap election may have been damage limitation against a complete far-right victory later down the line, according to sources close to the French president quoted in Le Figaro.
Read more: Macron: why I called snap French election and won’t resign if we lose
Unnamed sources who attended a behind-doors meeting soon after the president announced the election said he was optimistic about his party’s chances, despite its heavy defeat at the European Elections.
However, the president has also said that he prefers the risk of the RN partially winning now – where they would be forced to be part of a ‘cohabitation’ with him as president – than win both the legislative and presidential elections in 2027.
“If we lose, I'd rather give the keys to Matignon [the primer ministership] to the RN in 2024 than the keys to this house [the Élysée and presidency] to Marine Le Pen in 2027,” he is alleged to have said on June 9.
It seems the president believes that in the event of an RN majority at the legislative elections, he would be able to limit how much power the group wielded and how many of their policies they could enact.
It would also give RN nearly three years of power, enough time for them to show an apparent inability to govern, leading voters to reject them in 2027’s elections in favour for a more moderate party – or at least this is the theory.
Mr Macron is restrained by term limits, as he has already won two presidential elections and is unable to run to be president again in 2027.
RN candidate attacked at market
A candidate for the RN was hospitalised on Thursday (June 20) in Saint-Etienne, after being attacked whilst campaigning at a local market.
Hervé Breuil, 68, was injured whilst leafleting at around 11:30.
A member of his team, who was present, said it was a “coordinated attack” carried out by “four people, dressed in black and wearing masks.”
They allegedly began threatening the candidate and his entourage, before attacking them and pushing several people to the floor.
The party has temporarily suspended leafleting in the city after the attack, and campaigning by the opposition candidate, the New Popular Front’s Andrée Taurinya, was cancelled in the area.
She said that “physical violence [had no place] in politics,” and urged people to “never” attack a candidate regardless of their party affiliation.
No official updates have been given about the state of Mr Breuil, but it is not thought that his condition is not serious.
New Popular Front defends its €106 billion spending plans
The would-be finance minister of a New Popular Front (left-wing) government has defended its spending plans after debate over the group’s economic programme.
Valérie Rabault, of the Socialist Party, said the group would spend €106 billion between 2024 and 2027 to enact its reforms if elected.
She said the spending plans were feasible and have been fully-costed by the party.
Left-wing heavyweight Jean-Luc Mélenchon previously said the New Popular Front’s spending plans would cost €200 billion between 2024 and 2030.
Miss Rabault said the two figures could not be compared as they related to different time periods.
June 20
PM Gabriel Attal details Renaissance programme
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal gave a press conference on June 20 entitled Le jour d'après, or 'the day after', detailing the policy points of his Renaissance party.
The sweeping programme includes the requirement that residency card applicants should speak a higher level of French, however it is not immediately clear whether he was referring to a change that is already expected to come into effect before January 1, 2026.
Read more: What are France’s new language level rules to apply for residency?
- Help for the cost of living, including a 15% reduction in the price of electricity from 2025, indexing pensions against inflation, an end to notaire fees for first-time buyers and a commitment to not raise taxes.
- Labour reforms, including a boost to the 'Macron bonus' for companies, lowering the social security charges for workers on minimum wage, a boost to the four-day working week in the private sector.
- Measures against climate change, including the construction of 14 new nuclear reactors, making 100,000 electric cars available for €100 a month and a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2027.
- A strong foreign policy, including increased defense spending
- Increased security measures, in particular targeting anti-social behaviour from delinquent youths and the requirement that residency card applicants should speak a higher level of French.
German allies criticise ‘panic election’
President Macron, who is widely seen as an internationalist and europhile, has rattled the German political sphere with his snap election.
Conservative German MP Inge Grässle called the decision “a sort of panic”.
However, it is a different panic that is gripping Germany: “For Germans it is Trump in the United States and Marine Le Pen in France,” political researcher Klaus-Peter Sick told franceinfo.
“They [German politicians] heavily backed Macron,” political scientist Sabine von Oppeln told franceinfo. “He is the one who has been making Europe progress.
“We absolutely require effective franco-german cooperation to manage the various problems within the EU. Without Germany and France, it just cannot work”
Second TV debate scheduled between Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Rassemblement Nationale leader Jordan Bardella and La France Insoumise MP Manuel Bompard will spar in a televised debate on June 25.
This will be the second time that Mr Attal and Mr Bardella have debated within a month.
The debate will be broadcast on TF1 at 21:00 on June 25.
Marion Maréchal alleged to have ‘siphoned' money from Reconquête!
Marion Maréchal (formerly known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen) abandoned the far-right Reconquête! party after calling for her supporters to vote for the Rassemblement Nationale in an act of political theatre on June 10.
Leader Eric Zemmour expelled her on June 12.
However, this was not before she “siphoned money from the accounts” of Reconquête!, according to reports in the Le Canard Enchaîné, based on a leaked email from the party’s treasurer.
In the email, Gilbert Payet, treasurer of Reconquête! reportedly says that up to €500,000 had been siphoned via four companies close to Marion Maréchal.
It is also alleged that she took the digital data of Reconquête! party members when she was expelled. Marion Maréchal is the granddaughter of Rassemblement National founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and the niece of the party’s joint leader Marine Le Pen.
See the parliamentary candidates in your area
The newspaper Le Monde has created an online tool to see the parliamentary candidates in each department. The tool is available here.
There are also official government search tools available, however you need to look at each departmental site to see them, for instance:
The election will include more than 4,000 candidates in total for the 577 available seats.
