French President Wins Big in Parliamentary Vote

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The fledgling party of France’s new centrist president Emmanuel Macron is set for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, as early results from Sunday’s first round of voting showed it taking more than 32 percent of the vote.

That would put La Republique en Marche (LREM) within reach of an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, with between 400 and 440 seats in the 577-seat lower house.

Voter turnout, however, hit a record low, as an estimated 52 percent of the population stayed away. That’s being blamed on voter fatigue, after a long and divisive presidential campaign that saw Macron elected last month.

The result is seen as a strong endorsement of President Macron. Many of those who voted for him in the presidential election, particularly left-wing voters, said they were doing so only to keep Marine Le Pen out. At the time, many of them, and those who abstained, promised to vote against the new president in the parliamentary elections. However, it is clear that a large percentage of them changed their minds.