Inam Ansari
Paris: French voters went to the polls Sunday in the final round of parliamentary elections that will demonstrate how much legroom President Emmanuel Macron’s party will be given to implement his ambitious domestic agenda. In last week’s first-round vote, a coalition led by hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon made a surprisingly strong showing, sending jitters through Macron’s centrist and center-right allies. They fear that a strong performance by Melenchon's coalition on Sunday could turn Macron into a shackled second-term leader, one who spends his time bargaining with politicians and with limits on his ability to govern. Following Macron’s reelection in May, his coalition has been campaigning to keep its parliamentary majority to enable the president to implement promises including tax cuts and raising France’s retirement age from 62 to 65. In Sunday's parliamentary runoff, voter turnout was 19% at midday, slightly higher than last week at the same time but still relatively low for France. Elections are being held nationwide to select the 577 members of the National Assembly. Though Macron’s alliance is projected to win the most seats, observers predict that it could fall short of maintaining his majority — the golden number of 289 seats. In this case, the new coalition composed of the hard left, the Socialists and the Greens could make Macron’s political maneuvering harder, since the lower house of parliament has the final say in passing laws. Macron made a powerfully choreographed plea to voters earlier this week from the tarmac ahead of a trip to Romania and Ukraine, warning that an inconclusive election, or hung parliament, would put the nation in danger. “In these troubled times, the choice you’ll make this Sunday is ...
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