Explainer: How the French snap election runoff works and what comes next

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Marie-Caroline Le Pen, leader of the far right National Rally, casts her ballot in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, on June 30, 2024. (AFP
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Updated 01 July 2024
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Explainer: How the French snap election runoff works and what comes next

  • If the National Rally or another political force than his centrist alliance gets a majority, Macron will be forced to appoint a prime minister belonging to that new majority
  • In such a situation — called “cohabitation” in France — the government would implement policies that diverge from the president’s plan

PARIS: French voters face a decisive choice on July 7 in the runoff of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all.
Projections by polling agencies suggest the far-right National Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, but the outcome remains uncertain amid the complex voting system.

In Sunday’s first round, the National Rally arrived ahead with an estimated one-third of the votes. The New Popular Front coalition that includes center-left, greens and hard-left forces came out in second position, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance.
Here’s a closer look:
How does it work?
The French system is complex and not proportionate to nationwide support for a party. Legislators are elected by district.
Over 60 candidates who won at least 50 percent of Sunday’s vote have been elected outright.

In addition, the top two contenders, alongside anyone else who won support from more than 12.5 percent of registered voters, are qualified for the second round.

In many districts, three people made it to the second round, though some tactics to block far-right candidates have already been announced: The left-wing coalition said it would withdraw its candidates in districts when they arrived in third position in order to support other politicians opposed to the far right. Macron’s centrist alliance also said some of its candidates would step down before the runoff to block the National Rally.
This makes the result of the second round uncertain, despite polls showing that the National Rally party has a good chance to win an absolute majority, that is at least 289 out of the 577 seats.

The National Assembly, the lower house, is the more powerful of France’s two houses of parliament. It has the final say in the law-making process over the Senate, dominated by conservatives.
Macron has a presidential mandate until 2027, and said he would not step down before the end of his term.
What’s cohabitation?
If the National Rally or another political force than his centrist alliance gets a majority, Macron will be forced to appoint a prime minister belonging to that new majority.
In such a situation — called “cohabitation” in France — the government would implement policies that diverge from the president’s plan.

France’s modern Republic has experienced three cohabitations, the last one under conservative President Jacques Chirac, with Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, from 1997 to 2002.
The prime minister is accountable to the parliament, leads the government and introduces bills.
“In case of cohabitation, policies implemented are essentially those of the prime minister,” political historian Jean Garrigues said.




France’s President Emmanuel Macron leaves the polling booth prior to cast his vote at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France on June 30, 2024. (POOL/AFP)

The president is weakened at home during cohabitation, but still holds some powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense because he is in charge of negotiating and ratifying international treaties. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, and is the one holding the nuclear codes.
“It’s possible for the president to prevent or temporarily suspend the implementation of a certain number of the prime minister’s projects, since he has the power to sign or not sign the government’s ordinances or decrees,” Garrigues added.
“Yet the prime minister has the power to submit these ordinances and decrees to a vote of the National Assembly, thus overriding the president’s reluctance,” he noted.
Who leads defense and foreign policies?
During previous cohabitations, defense and foreign policies were considered the informal “reserved field” of the president, who was usually able to find compromises with the prime minister to allow France to speak with one voice abroad.
Yet today, both the far-right and the leftist coalition’s views in these areas differ radically from Macron’s approach and would likely be a subject of tension during a potential cohabitation.
According to the Constitution, while “the president is the head of the military, it’s the prime minister who has the armed forces at his disposal,” Garrigues said.
“In the diplomatic field also, the president’s perimeter is considerably restricted,” Garrigues added.




Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally party, reacts on stage after partial results in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections in Paris on June 30, 2024. (REUTERS)

Far-right leader Jordan Bardella, who could becomes prime minister if his party wins the majority of the seats, said he intends “to be a cohabitation prime minister who is respectful of the Constitution and of the President of the Republic’s role but uncompromising about the policies we will implement.”
Bardella said that if he were to become prime minister, he would oppose sending French troops to Ukraine — a possibility Macron has not ruled out. Bardella also said he would refuse French deliveries of long-range missiles and other weaponry capable of striking targets within Russia itself.
What happens if there’s no majority?
The president can name a prime minister from the parliamentary group with the most seats at the National Assembly — this was the case of Macron’s own centrist alliance since 2022.
Yet the National Rally already said it would reject such an option, because it would mean a far-right government could soon be overthrown through a no-confidence vote if other political parties join together.
The president could try to build a broad coalition from the left to the right, an option that sounds unlikely, given the political divergences.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal hoped Sunday to be able to have enough centrist lawmakers to build “a majority of projects and ideas” with other “Republican forces,” which may include those from the center-left and the center-right.




French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech in the courtyard of the Prime Minister’s residence in Paris on June 30, 2024. (AP)

Experts say another complex option would be to appoint “a government of experts” unaffiliated with political parties but which would still need to be accepted by a majority at the National Assembly. Such a government would likely deal mostly with day-to-day affairs rather than implementing major reforms.
If political talks take too long amid summer holidays and the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics in Paris, Garrigues said a “transition period” is not ruled out, during which Macron’s centrist government would “still be in charge of current affairs,” pending further decisions.
“Whatever the National Assembly looks like, it seems that the Constitution of the 5th Republic is flexible enough to survive these complex circumstances,” Melody Mock-Gruet, a public law expert teaching at Sciences Po Paris, said in a written note. “Institutions are more solid than they appear, even when faced with this experimental exercise.”
“Yet there remains another unknown in the equation: the population’s ability to accept the situation,” Mock-Gruet wrote.


Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty, lawmaker says

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Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty, lawmaker says

KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree on the country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the production and use of anti-personnel mines, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker said on Sunday.
Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005 and a parliamentary decision is needed to withdraw from the treaty.
The document is not yet available on the website of the president’s office.
“This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a party to this Convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians,” Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Ukraine parliament’s committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said on his Facebook page.
“We cannot remain tied down in an environment where the enemy has no restrictions,” he added, saying that the legislative decision must definitively restore Ukraine’s right to effectively defend its territory.
Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine in recent months, using significant superiority in manpower.
Kostenko did not say when the issue would be debated in parliament.

Air India plane crash probe looking at all angles: minister

Updated 2 min 8 sec ago
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Air India plane crash probe looking at all angles: minister

  • All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad on June 12
  • Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground, but a police source said after the crash that the toll was 38
NEW DELHI: An Indian aviation minister on Sunday said investigators were probing “all angles” behind an Air India crash when asked by media about possible sabotage.
All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad on June 12.
Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground, but a police source told AFP after the crash that the toll was 38.
India’s minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, said the investigation was looking at “all angles” when asked specifically about possible “sabotage,” in an interview with Indian news channel NDTV.
“It has never happened before that both engines have shut off together,” Mohol said earlier in the interview, in reference to theories by some experts of possible dual-engine failure.
The minister added that until the investigation report is published, it would be premature to comment on the cause.
The team appointed to investigate the crash started extracting data from the plane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders this week, in an attempt to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the disaster.
Air India has said that the plane was “well-maintained” and that the pilots were accomplished flyers.

Germany seeks Israeli partnership on cyberdefense, plans ‘cyber dome’

Updated 22 min 44 sec ago
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Germany seeks Israeli partnership on cyberdefense, plans ‘cyber dome’

BERLIN: Germany is aiming to establish a joint German-Israeli cyber research center and deepen collaboration between the two countries’ intelligence and security agencies, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday.
Germany is among Israel’s closest allies in Europe, and Berlin has increasingly looked to draw upon Israel’s defense expertise as it boosts its military capabilities and contributions to NATO in the face of perceived growing threats from Russia and China.
“Military defense alone is not sufficient for this turning point in security. A significant upgrade in civil defense is also essential to strengthen our overall defensive capabilities,” Dobrindt said during a visit to Israel, as reported by Germany’s Bild newspaper.
Dobrindt, who was appointed by new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month, arrived in Israel on Saturday.
According to the Bild report, Dobrindt outlined a five-point plan aimed at establishing what he called a “Cyber Dome” for Germany, as part of its cyberdefense strategy.
Earlier on Sunday, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder called for the acquisition of 2,000 interceptor missiles to equip Germany with an “Iron Dome” system similar to Israel’s short-range missile defense technology.


French minister calls for extension of EU-US trade talks

Updated 29 June 2025
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French minister calls for extension of EU-US trade talks

  • Progress in the negotiations between the huge trading partners remains unclear
  • US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that deadlines on some countries negotiating in good faith could be extended

PARIS: France’s finance minister has called for extending EU-US trade talks beyond the July 9 deadline in order to secure a better agreement.
US President Donald Trump has set the deadline for the trade talks, warning that failure to reach agreement could trigger higher US tariffs on goods from cars to pharmaceuticals.
Progress in the negotiations between the huge trading partners remains unclear. European officials are increasingly resigned to a 10 percent “reciprocal” tariff imposed by Washington in April being the baseline in any deal, sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters.
“I think that we are going to strike a deal with the Americans,” French Finance Minister Eric Lombard told newspaper La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on Sunday.
“Regarding the deadline, my wish is for another postponement. I would rather have a good deal than a bad deal on July 9,” he said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that deadlines on some countries negotiating in good faith could be extended.
French President Emmanuel Macron said following an EU summit on Thursday that France wants a quick and pragmatic trade deal with the United States but would not accept unbalanced terms.
EU leaders discussed a new US proposal at the summit but the European Commission did not reveal the content of the offer.
Lombard said that energy could form part of a trade deal, with the EU potentially increasing its imports of US gas to replace flows from Russia.


Hong Kong’s last active pro-democracy group says it will disband amid security crackdown

Updated 29 June 2025
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Hong Kong’s last active pro-democracy group says it will disband amid security crackdown

  • League of Social Democrats co-founded in 2006 by former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung
  • LSD is the last group in Hong Kong to stage small protests this year

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats said on Sunday that it would disband amid “immense political pressure” from a five year-long national security crackdown, leaving the China-ruled city with no formal pro-democracy opposition presence.

The LSD becomes the third major opposition party to shutter in Hong Kong in the past two years.

Co-founded in 2006 by former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung as a radical wing of the pro-democracy camp, the LSD is the last group in Hong Kong to stage small protests this year.

Mass public gatherings and marches spearheaded by political and civil society groups had been common in Hong Kong until 2020, but the threat of prosecution has largely shut down organized protests since.

China imposed a national security law on the former British colony in 2020, punishing offenses like subversion with possible life imprisonment following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

A second set of laws, known as Article 23, was passed in 2024 by the city’s pro-Beijing legislature covering crimes such as sedition and treason.

Current chair Chan Po-ying said the group had been “left with no choice” and after considering the safety of party members had decided to shutdown. Chan declined to specify what pressures they had faced.

“We have endured hardships of internal disputes and the near total imprisonment of our leadership while witnessing the erosion of civil society, the fading of grassroots voices, the omnipresence of red lines and the draconian suppression of dissent,” Chan told reporters, while flanked by six other core members including Tsang Kin-shing, Dickson Chau, Raphael Wong, Figo Chan and Jimmy Sham.

In February, the Democratic Party, the city’s largest and most popular opposition party, announced it would disband. Several senior members told Reuters they had been warned by Beijing that a failure to do so would mean serious consequences including possible arrests.

Earlier this month, China’s top official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, stressed national security work must continue as hostile forces were still interfering in the city.

“We must clearly see that the anti-China and Hong Kong chaos elements are still ruthless and are renewing various forms of soft resistance,” Xia said in a speech in Hong Kong.

The League of Social Democrats is one of Hong Kong’s smaller pro-democracy groups known for its more aggressive tactics and street protests in its advocacy of universal suffrage and grassroots causes including a universal pension scheme. In a 2016 incident, Leung threw a round object at former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying inside the legislature.

Three LSD members were fined on June 12 by a magistrate for setting up a street booth where a blank black cloth was displayed and money was collected in public without official permission. Chan told reporters that the party had no assets to divest and no funds left after several of its bank accounts were shut down in 2023.

While never as popular as the more moderate Democratic Party and Civic Party, it gained three seats in a 2008 legislative election — its best showing.

The LSD’s founder Leung, 69, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 in the landmark ‘47 Democrats’ case. He is currently serving a sentence of six years and nine months in prison. Another member, Jimmy Sham, was also jailed in the same case and released in May.

The security laws have been criticized as a tool of repression by the US and Britain, but China says they have restored stability with 332 people so far arrested under these laws.

“I hope that the people of Hong Kong will continue to pay attention to the vulnerable, and they will continue to speak out for injustice,” Figo Chan said.