French President Emmanuel Macron‘s party “The Republic Forward” suffered several defeats in the second round of the municipal elections in France that took place yesterday, while the Green Party advanced in several major cities.
Agence France-Presse reported that the rate of abstention in the elections reached an unprecedented level of about 60 percent after three and a half months of the first session, which also recorded a low turnout.
According to the preliminary results of the elections, the Green Party has advanced in several major French cities, such as Lyon and Marseille, while the Socialist mayor, Ann Hidalgo, was re-elected with more than 50 percent of the votes, ahead of right-wing candidate Rachida Dati, while the ruling party’s candidate, Anis Bossin, was replaced by a third.
These elections resulted in the installation of the Green Party as the “largest left-wing force in France“, while the ruling party did not achieve decisive results in any big city, with the exception of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who did not nominate in the name of the party a victory in the coastal city of Le Havre with 59 % of the vote.
According to observers, the loss of the ruling party makes Macron in a difficult situation two years before the end of his term, amid speculation about a reshuffle.
Meanwhile, opposition representatives, including Jean-Luc Melonshon of the leftist movement and the head of the French National Front, Marine Le Pen, described the low participation rate as a “strike of the French citizens”, while French government spokeswoman Sebath Ndiaye said that the election results that resulted in the loss of the ruling party were “disappointing.”
Macron‘s setback came after several splits in its ranks in recent weeks, which led to it losing the absolute majority in the National Assembly.
France has witnessed over the past two years strikes and large-scale protests, the most prominent of which was the movement of the “yellow vests” movement, rejecting the Macron government’s economic policies.
Source :Sana
