No big shift in French elections

The historical French Parliament made up of a broad spectrum of political parties, with its coalitions and deals necessary to form a government, no longer exists. Instead, the French government is looking more like the U.S. model, alternating between center-right and center-left governments.

That was the main lesson of the first round of the French parliamentary election on June 10. The vote reflected no major shifts in public opinion from the presidential election. The nominally Socialist Party — the center left — whose candidate François Hollande was elected president in May, has a chance of winning a working majority in the next round of voting June 17.

June 17 is when the runoffs between the candidates that got at least 12.5 percent of the vote in the first election take place.

The elections had a low turnout of 60 percent, compared to the 80 percent in the presidential contest a month earlier. If the second round goes as expected, Hollande would have enough support in Parliament to impose a slight tax hike on the superrich — which is in his program — and for an end to harsh austerity, but not an end to all cuts.

In northern France, a Rust Belt area called Pas-de-Calais, there was a direct confrontation between left and far right. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who had been the presidential candidate of the Left Front, ran in the same district as Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate of the fascist National Front.

Le Pen finished first, with more than 40 percent of the vote. The SP candidate finished second and Mélenchon came in third (L’Humanité, June 11). Mélenchon withdrew in favor of the “Socialist” candidate for the second term.

That the National Front received 14 percent of the total vote shows that it still could develop into a threat outside Parliament. It does not, however, have a concentration in a particular district that would assure it of electing more than a few candidates to Parliament.

The Left Front did significantly better than the Communist Party did five years ago, but depending on what happens in the second round, may not have enough seats to play a significant role in Parliament. Nearly all seats will be divided between the SP and the center-right UMG party.