French President loses absolute majority in legislative elections

CHENNAI: Less than two months after the French President Emmanuel Macron’s reelection, he lost control of the National Assembly in the legislative elections held on Sunday.

The parliament threatens to throw the country in a political dilemma if the President is unable to negotiate his alliances with the opposing parties.

The centrist Ensemble Coalition proposed by Macron which aimed to increase the age of retirement and enable EU integration was overthrown by a newly formed left-wing alliance.

President Macron’s alliance lost its majority by winning only 245 seats out of a 577 member chamber, falling short of a total of 289 seats for majority.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne addressed the risks and the challenges that the country currently faces and vowed to work in building a working majority.

The outcome of the legislative assembly has blemished the image that President Macron created with his iconic win in the April presidential elections, making him the first president to win a second term in over two decades.

The results also pose a threat to the jobs of some of Macron’s ministers as per his rules that ministers who stand for election and lose will have to resign.