More than 200 candidates have dropped out to help the Republican Front stop the victory of the French far right

According to Le Monde’s calculations, 218 candidates withdrew from the second round to avoid splitting votes with other candidates who had a better chance of defeating the candidates of the National Union (RN), Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. Of those who “dropped out”, 130 were candidates of the New Popular Front, a group of left-wing parties, and 82 belonged to Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc.

The recall will see some 400 seats contested in a two-way showdown between the RN and Republican candidates, allowing tactical voting to be concentrated on the latter to prevent the formation of a far-right majority. This tactic has worked several times in the past, including when the Republican Front helped Jacques Chirac defeat Jean-Marie Le Pen in the 2002 presidential election.

RN list leader Jordan Bardella on Tuesday denounced the strategy as an “alliance of shame,” but a source in the far-right party assured that the “republican front” was “good news.” “It sends a message that everyone is against us. It’s another big stunt, and our voters are fed up with it,” he said.

Despite this, Marine Le Pen on Tuesday lowered expectations for the second round, acknowledging for the first time that the National Union could govern even if it did not have an absolute majority, contrary to what it has always guaranteed so far. If the far-right wins around 270 MPs (the absolute majority is 289), Le Pen said, the party could try to persuade some independents from different political backgrounds to support its government platform.