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178 candidates to withdraw from election to thwart right wing
France
Candidates from the left-wing New Popular Front and the presidential coalition Ensemble pour la République will withdraw from the second round of early elections to the National Assembly (the lower house of the French parliament) in order to prevent the right-wing National Rally party from winning an absolute majority of mandates, Le Monde newspaper reports.
According to his data, 122 representatives of the left, 55 candidates of the presidential coalition and 1 politician of the liberal party Les Républicains have agreed to give up their place in the electoral race.
In most single-mandate constituencies, candidates from the three main blocs advanced to the second round. Under French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan, politicians who are least likely to beat the National Rally candidate on July 7 should withdraw from the race.
Candidates who agree to do so must confirm their withdrawal from the race by 6:00 PM (UTC+2) on July 2. Currently, with 178 candidates withdrawing from the race, 133 “triangles” are planned for the second round: candidates from three political alliances (the presidential alliance and the two opposition alliances) will compete.
The agreements on the withdrawal of candidates, reached in negotiations between representatives of the government and the left-wing opposition, were sharply criticized by the National Rally. Its president, Jordan Bardella, denounced what he called an unnatural alliance between Mr. Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon (founder of the left-wing party La France Insoumise). Mr. Bardella noted that La France Insoumise, in particular, had withdrawn its candidate to give votes to former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, who had implemented an unpopular pension reform and had practiced passing laws by circumventing parliament.n