Thousands of people gathered tonight in Paris' Place de la République, a symbol of left-wing protests, to celebrate the victory of the New Popular Front and the defeat of Marine Le Pen's far-right, which came in third.
“I am very happy. We were very afraid of what could happen, but the fight has not ended, it has only just begun because the far-right is growing throughout France, especially in the countryside, which we must be careful about,” says Julie, a young Parisian who works for an NGO.
The crowd that had gathered in the square climbed on top of the statue of the Republic, set off fireworks and shouted against the National Rally, Marine Le Pen's party. “We are all anti-fascists” and “Everyone hates Bardella” were among the most repeated statements. Jordan Bardella was Le Pen's candidate for prime minister.
It is a great moment for me, for Paris, for France and for Europe. All of Europe is affected by what happens in France. “I am happy, but this is Paris, just a small part of France,” says Yvonne, a 68-year-old retired actress. “Attention to what is going to happen here and in Europe in the coming years, that is very fragile.”
France has broken all the polls and made a U-turn this Sunday. “Our people have clearly rejected the proposal of fear,” said LFI President Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “President [Emmanuel Macron] has a duty to call the New Popular Front to govern,” he added. For its part, the Elysée confirmed in a statement that President Emmanuel Macron will not come to speak and that he will wait for the “structuring” of the new Assembly to “take the necessary measures.”
Before heading to the Plaza de la República, the first celebrations took place in the Stalingrad Roundabout, where La Francia Insumisa (LFI) celebrated election night. Shouts, applause and hugs dominated the festive atmosphere. Every time the image of Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen’s “dolphin” and the far-right party’s candidate for prime minister, appeared on the screen, the crowd booed with joy and satisfaction.
With the 577 seats in the Chamber already allocated, the New Popular Front (NFP) of socialists, communists, environmentalists and the more radical France Insoumise (LFI) remains in first place with 182 seats, plus another 13 left-wing independents, according to official data from the Ministry of the Interior. The Macronist bloc, made up of three parties, loses its majority and is left with 168 deputies. And third place went to the far-right National Group (RN), which started as the big favorite after winning the first round and the opinion polls published until Friday, but ended up with 143 seats.
Despite this strong disappointment, the RN achieved a historic result, well above the 89 delegates in 2022, which already represented an exceptional leap compared to the 8 they had in 2017.