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Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed - LFI), delivers a speech on stage during a rally with members of the alliance of left-wing parties called the "Nouveau Front Populaire" (New Popular Front - NFP), at the Place de la Republique after partial results in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections in Paris, France, Jun 30, 2024. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
PARIS: Following are reactions to the upset results of France's parliamentary election on Sunday. The country was on course for a hung parliament with the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coming first, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrists and the far-right National Rally (RN), according to pollsters' projections based on early results from a sample at polling stations.
JEAN-LUC MELENCHON, HARD-LEFT FRANCE UNBOWED PARTY
Jean-Luc Melenchon starkly divides opinion on the left (PHOTO: AFP/Sameer Al-Doumy)
"The will of the people must be strictly respected. No arrangement would be acceptable. The defeat of the president and his coalition is clearly confirmed. The president must accept his defeat.
"The prime minister must go. The president must invite the New Popular Front to govern."
JORDAN BARDELLA, FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PARTY
Far-right National Rally party president Jordan Bardella reacts after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, Jul 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (PHOTO: AP/Louise Delmotte)
"I say tonight with gravity that depriving millions of French people of the possibility of seeing their ideas brought to power will never be a viable destiny for France.
"Tonight, by deliberately trying to paralyze our institutions, Emmanuel Macron has not simply pushed the country towards uncertainty and instability, he has deprived the French people of any response to their day-to-day difficulties for many months to come.
"In the midst of a purchasing power crisis, with insecurity and disorder hitting the country hard, France is deprived of a majority, of a government to act, and therefore of a clear course to turn France around".
GERALD DARMANIN, INTERIOR MINISTER, KEY FIGURE IN MACRON'S CENTRIST CAMP
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin leaves the weekly cabinet meeting, Wednesday, Jul 3, 2024 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called the snap election on June 9 after a stinging defeat at the hands of the National Rally in French voting for the European Parliament. The unpopular president gambled that the far right would not repeat that success when France's own fate was in the balance. (PHOTO: AP/Thomas Padilla)
"I note that today, no one can say they have won this legislative election, especially not Mister Melenchon".
RAPHAEL GLUCKSMANN, SOCIALIST PARTY
Raphael Glucksmann, head of the joint list named "Reveiller l'Europe" of the French Socialist Party and "Place Publique" for the European elections, attends a hearing to present his program to French entrepreneurs at the French employers body MEDEF union headquarters in Paris, France, Apr 18, 2024. (PHOTO: Reuters/Abdul Saboor)
"We're ahead, but we're in a divided parliament ... so we're going to have to act like grown-ups.
"We're going to have to talk, to discuss, to engage in dialogue ... The balance of power has shifted in parliament ... and there's going to be a fundamental change of political culture".
OLIVIER FAURE, SOCIALIST PARTY
Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, Jul 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (PHOTO: AP/Aurelien Morissard)
"We have to do our utmost to reunite the country. The RN had made the choice of dividing French citizens from one another. We have to restore the country on a clear basis and the New Popular Front must take the lead in this new chapter of our history".
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