Frances Leftist Coalition Pulls Off Shock Victory in Upset for Far Right and Macrons Centrist Govt

In France, the recently formed leftist coalition the New Popular Front pulled off a surprise victory in the second round of parliamentary elections Sunday. The left-green alliance came together in a bid to stave off the far right after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party made major advances in the first round and in recent EU elections. But the New Popular Front, which won 182 seats in the National Assembly, still fell short of the 289 seats required for an absolute majority. Sunday’s results come as a major blow to not only the far right, but to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the snap election in the hopes French voters would keep his centrist coalition in place. Macron’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offered to resign, but Macron asked him to stay on temporarily. The head of the progressive France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Mlenchon, spoke following his coalition’s victory Sunday.