London [UK]: French president Emmanuel Macron’s new centrist party is heading towards an assured overwhelming majority in the Parliament, after exit polls showed it topping the poll with 32% in the first round on Sunday.
Macron’s La Republique En Marche (Republic on the Move) – which set up just more than a year ago- could go from zero to as many as 430 seats in the 577-seat French national assembly, which could be one of the biggest majorities in post-war France, reports the Guardian.
On the other hand, Marine Le Pen’s far-right Front National, which came second in the presidential election with 10.6m votes, was projected to win between three and 11 seats – with about 14% of the vote, which the party said was “disappointing”.
Macron needs a solid majority if he is to put in place his plans to loosen France’s extensive labour laws and change the French welfare system on pensions and unemployment benefits.
The President’s parliamentary candidates include a historic number of total newcomers to parliamentary politics, which range from an ex-bullfighter to a former fighter pilot, a mathematician and an anti-corruption magistrate as well as former local politicians.
If Macron’s party does win a landslide victory in the final round on 18 June, it will reframe the landscape of French politics in a colossal manner. (ANI)