Macron Faces Losing Parliament Majority As Left Bloc Surges in Legislative 1st Round Vote

French President Emmanuel Macron may not achieve a majority in the French parliament as the first round of legislative elections as voter abstentions reached a record 52.8 per cent.

President Macron’s bloc Ensemble! (Together!) polled at 25.8 per cent according to projections by the firm Elabe after the voting for the first round of the legislative elections ended on Sunday evening.

The leftist bloc, the New Ecologic and Social People’s Union, or NUPES, polled slightly higher than Macron’s candidates at 26.2 per cent, fueling speculation that after the second round, which is set to take place next Sunday, Macron may not be able to wield a majority in the French parliament, France24 reports.

A total of 289 seats are required to form a majority in the French parliament and projections state that Macron’s Ensemble! could gain between 225 to 310 seats after the second round of voting next week.

A loss of majority status could force President Macron to negotiate future legislation on a case-by-case basis as he would require the support of other parties to pass policy proposals.

“It’s a very serious warning that has been sent to Emmanuel Macron,” said Brice Teinturier, a political scientist, who added, “A majority is far from certain.”

Far-left former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the NUPES bloc, commented on the initial results saying, “The presidential majority is defeated,” and added, “The truth is that the presidential party is beaten and defeated.”

“I call on our people, in view of this result, for our personal lives and for the destiny of the common homeland, to surge next Sunday,” Mélenchon said and added that his bloc was “ready to govern.”

Populist Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally (RN) and the runner-up in this year’s presidential election, came close to securing an outright win in her race in Henin-Beaumont with 54 per cent of the vote but will need to go to a second-round due to the low turnout in the election.

Low turnouts for the election were not limited to Ms Le Pen’s race as the entire election saw a record 52.8 per cent of voters choosing to abstain from voting.

Le Pen’s National Rally, which won just eight seats at the least national election in 2017, is projected to increase her party’s presence in parliament to between 20 and 45 seats this year.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.