French President Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche has won a clear majority in the Parliament. The centrist party and its ally, Democratic Movement, are set to win 361 seats in the 577-seat Assembly, partial results said, according to AFP.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, “A year ago, no one would have imagined such a political renewal”. Macron, a relative newcomer to French politics, ousted both the Socialists and far right to win the polls. A year ago, the French right wing had believed it was impossible for them to lose both the presidential and parliamentary elections, The Guardian reported.
Macron’s clear majority will make it much easier to make changes to labour laws, employment policies etc, since he will not need to go through very long Parliament negotiations. The new president had said he planned to pass a series of labour regulations in the next few months before overhauling unemployment insurance, professional training and next year, reforming pension schemes.
However, polling numbers were a dim spot for En Marche, as only 43% of voters had exercised their franchise in the polls. The turnout was historically low, and large numbers of people from low income areas had abstained from voting.
On May 8, Macron had won a landslide victory in France’s presidential election, soon after his campaign had faced a “massive and coordinated hacking attack”. He won 66.06% of the votes, while his opponent, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, got 33.94%.
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