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‘Unprecedented situation’ – Macron loses majority in French parliament

Emmanuel Macron's prime minister will begin work on Monday trying to secure a coalition after his party lost its majority in the French parliamentary elections.

Published: 19 June 2022 20:08 CEST
Updated: 20 June 2022 07:41 CEST
'Unprecedented situation' - Macron loses majority in French parliament
France's President Emmanuel Macron cast his vote during the second stage of French parliamentary elections at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France on June 19, 2022. (Photo by Michel Spingler / POOL / AFP)

Macron’s centrist coalition Ensemble won 245 seats, making them the largest group but falling short of the 289 needed for a majority in the Assemblée nationale.

The left-wing Nupes alliance won 131 seats, while Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally made major gains and won 89 seats.

The final results were confirmed by the Interior Ministry in the early hours of Monday.

Macron’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne made a brief speech as the results came in, saying: “Tonight the situation is unprecedented.

“This situation constitutes a risk for our country, given the challenges that we have to confront,” she said in a televised statement, adding: “We will work from tomorrow to build a working majority.”

The result does not affect Macron’s position as president, but means he will find it difficult to pass laws without a majority in the Assemblée nationale. 

The Macron government has also lost several big names, as ministers including Health minister Brigitte Bourguignon and Environment minister Amélie de Montchalin lost their seats.

READ ALSO What happens next in France as Macron loses majority?

Key ministers in the Macron government admitted that the performance in parliamentary elections was “disappointing”.

The results are “far from what we hoped”, Budget Minister Gabriel Attal said on the TF1 channel, while Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told BFM television: “We’re in first place but it’s a first place that is obviously disappointing.”

Meanwhile the number two of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, hailed her party’s performance as a “tsumani”.

Macron and Borne – who won her seat in Calvados, Normandy – will to attempt to build an alliance over the next few days with centre-right (LR) and independent MPs in order to give him a majority in parliament.

The new left-wing coalition Nupes  – now the second-largest group in parliament – was formed in May after the left suffered a debacle in April presidential elections, and groups the centre-left Parti Socialiste, the hard-left La France Insoumise, Communists and greens.

The left only had 60 seats in the outgoing parliament.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party made huge gains after having only eight seats in the outgoing parliament.   

Turnout was again very low for the second round, where just 46 percent of people voted.

Several big-name Macron supporters have lost their seats, including Health minister Brigitte Bourguignon, Environment minister Amélie de Montchalin, former interior minister Christophe Castaner and Richard Ferrand, president of the Assemblée nationale.

Ministers who lose their seats as MP are not technically obliged to step down from their ministerial role, but Macron has said that they will be expected to do so. 

Damien Abad, the newly-appointed Disabilities minister who had been at the centre of a storm after he was accused of rape by three women, won re-election in Ain, northern France.

Europe minister Clément Beune – a Macron protege who was facing a very tight race in his constituency in Paris – beat the Nupes candidate by just 658 votes. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Which services are affected by arson attacks on France’s train network?

Train services in France - including the Eurostar - are very severely disrupted on Friday following a "massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network". Here's a look at the areas affected.

Published: 26 July 2024 09:41 CEST
Updated: 26 July 2024 15:15 CEST
Which services are affected by arson attacks on France's train network?

France’s high-speed rail network was hit by a series of arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of “sabotage”.

A spokesman for the French national train service SNCF said: “This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network,” adding that many routes will have to be cancelled and the situation would last, “at least all weekend while repairs are conducted”.

You can find the full story here, but here’s a look at how the services are affected;

What services are affected?

SNCF says that at least 800,000 passengers will be affected by disruption on Friday, while the transport minister announced that up to 50 percent of services on affected lines would have to be cancelled.

The below map shows the sites of the arson attacks and which of the high-speed TGV lines – shown in blue – are affected.

SNCF has added that passengers affected by cancellations will be entitled to a 100 percent refund.

You can find detailed information on the SNCF information page here, or on the SNCF Connect app, but here is an overview of the services affected.

North – services between Paris and Lille and Paris and Arras are severely disrupted with delays and cancellations. High-speed TGV trains are being diverted onto local lines adding around 1 hour 30 minutes to journeys. Normal services are not expected to resume until Monday.

East – the TGV Est lines which include services between Paris and Strasbourg, Nancy and into Germany are severely disrupted with delays and cancellations. Services between Paris and the Champagne area (including Reims and Châlons) are not affected.

South-East – the LGV Sud-Est line, which links Paris with Lyon and onwards to Switzerland and Italy is not affected. SNCF said that an attempted arson attack in this area was foiled.

West and South-West – the TGV connections between Paris and Tours and Paris and Le Mans have been severely affected with limited services. Travellers are advised to postpone their journey if possible. Normal services are not expected to resume until Monday.

Paris’ Gare Montparnasse – which hosts the lines to the south-west and west of France – had no departures until 1pm on Friday, and after that SNCF says that one in three of the normal services will be running between Paris and Bordeaux.

Services to western France including Brittany and Normandy were gradually restarting on Friday afternoon, with around one in three services cancelled and many delayed.

Local trains

The arson attacks have targeted the high-speed TGV routes, but there may be some knock-on disruption to local TER train services, especially in northern France where some TGV trains are being diverted onto local lines.

SNCF says that just three trains per hour will be running on the routes between Paris and Brittany and Pays de la Loire with the possibility of cancellations.

Paris public transport

Regional public transport in Paris (the Metro, trams, buses, RER and local Transilien trains) have not been affected by the arson attacks. However security arrangements for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday mean that Metro and bus services in the city centre are severely disrupted – more details here.

Road closures in the city centre mean that people are strongly advised against driving in Paris on Friday.

Eurostar

Eurostar trains – which use the French high-speed line between Paris and Lille – have also been affected.

Eurostar says: “Due to coordinated acts of vandalism in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted onto the local train line on Friday. This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half. Several trains have been cancelled.”

In total 25 percent of trains between Paris and London were cancelled on Friday.

They added that passengers can cancel free of charge.

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