French Parliamentary Election 2024

On June 9, 2024, Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and a snap parliamentary election later this month following a clear victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally  (RN) in the European Parliament vote.

The 2024 French parliamentary election will be held on 29th & 30th June for the 1st tour and 6th and 7th July for the second, just a few weeks before the Paris Olympics. The results of the election won’t affect President Macron’s own position, as his presidency still runs for three more years, but it could mean that Marine Le Pen (or Jordan Bardella) will become prime minister.

French election predictions are notoriously unreliable, but according to exit polls, the National Rally is on course to win 32% of the vote, more than twice that of Macron’s Renaissance party.  Just two years into his second term as president,  Macron’s time in office has been a thorny ride, alienating various groups due to issues about work and the cost of living, the Gilets Jaunes protests, Brexit, the environment, immigration and security and of course Covid.

Some simple election facts!

♦Voters must be French citizens aged 18 or over.

♦The election nearly always has two rounds because it is very unusual for any candidate to win an absolute majority, of 50 per cent of the vote plus one.  Although this has never actually happened,  Charles de Gaulle came the closest in 1965, when he won  44 per cent in the first round. The top two candidates from the first round will go through to the second.

♦Elections are always held on Sundays.

♦After the election, the new president will be sworn in, and live (or continue to live) in the Elysée Palace in Paris.  In June, French voters will again go to the polls, this time to elect deputies (equivalent to members of parliament) which should in theory give the new president the majority he needs in Parliament ( l’Assemblée nationale)

Here at P-O Life, it is not our place to publish personal opinions, nor do we have the political expertise to do so, but if you are worried about the impact of rightwing extremism in Europe, this is the time to make sure your vote counts.
In Germany, the extreme Alternative für Deutschland came in second despite their party leader stating that ‘not all Nazi SS were criminals’. Far-right parties also topped the polls in Italy and Austria.
Food for thought.

And some election vocabulary to help you to follow the news. Any to add?

système électoral – voting system
élections présidentielles – election to choose the President
élections régionales – election to choose the regional council
élections municipales – election to choose the town/village council
Campagne électorale – election campaign
Bureau de vote – Polling stationVoter (pour/contre) – to vote for/against
Voter blanc – to cast a blank vote
Voter utile – to vote tactically
Voter à bulletin secret –  to vote by secret ballot
Un vote – a vote
Electeur – a voter
Électeurs inscrits – registered voter
Bulletin de vote – ballot paper
Urne (de vote) – ballot box
Isoloir – polling booth
Se rendre aux urnes – to go to the poll
Dépouillement – Counting of votes
Carte d’électeur – voting card
Élire – to elect
Âge légal pour voter – voting age
Droit de vote – right to vote
Promesses électorales – campaign promises
Sondage d’opinion – opinion poll
Candidat – candidate
Circonscription    – constituency
Premier tour – first ballot
Second tour – second ballot
Taux de participation – turnout at pools
Référendum – referendum
Élection partielle – by-election
Résultats – results
le taux d’abstention – abstention rate
Fraude électorale – election fraud
Réélection – re-election
Se présenter aux élections – to stand for election
Remporter les élections – to win the election

Attention!
la politique –  politics, policy
le politique –  politician (or un homme/une femme politique)