Who Won the First Round of the 2024 French Legislative Elections?

After the first round of voting in the French legislative election, the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) or National Rally is clearly ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble coalition. According to preliminary results, Marine Le Pen's RN party and its allies achieved 33.2 percent of the vote, as shown by our chart based on data from the French Ministry of the Interior. The left-wing alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP/UG) or New Popular Front achieved 28 percent. The centrist Ensemble camp came in third with a 20 percent share of the vote. France's conservatives led by Les Républicains leader Éric Ciotti (LR) achieved a 6.6 percent share of the vote.

Elections are held in two rounds according to the majority voting system. In the first round, those candidates who receive an absolute majority of the votes cast and at least 25 percent of the votes of all eligible voters in their constituency are elected to seats in the National Assembly. If a second round is required, the two first-placed candidates and all candidates for whom at least 12.5 percent of eligible voters have voted will run again. The candidate who receives the most votes wins.

The right-wing populist Rassemblement National (RN) and party leader Marine Le Pen are promising to reduce migration and therefore also financial benefits for migrants and to seal off France, including against the EU. The newly formed left-wing alliance wants to increase the minimum wage and freeze prices. Both sides want to reverse Macron's pension reform, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.