The Morning After: Herzlich Willkommen in Frankreich ?

Listen

0:00

The left-wing "New Popular Front" managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat in France, coming first in the legislative elections and the largest group of deputies in the new National Assembly with 182 seats, considering affiliated candidates as well.

The President's party and former coalition government, "Together with the Republic," performed better than expected and came second with 168 seats, followed by the much-maligned National Rally with 143.

The wing of the conservative party, "The Republicans", that refused to join the National Rally along with affiliated candidates now has 66 seats.

These numbers can change slightly depending on how the so-called "independent" candidates are allocated, but the bottom line is that there are now three main groups in the new National Assembly: the left-wing "New Popular Front," the Centre with "Together," and the Far-right "National Rally." None of these groups can form a majority government by themselves.

Macron can afford to smile after the snap legislative elections