In his speech, Jordan Bardella polishes his costume as Prime Minister and keeps the perspective of an absolute majority

This article was originally published in English

Three weeks after winning the European elections, the National Rally (RN) came out on top in the first round of early legislative elections this Sunday, obtaining 33% of the votes across the country.

“The French have delivered an unequivocal verdict and confirmed their clear desire for change,” said Jordan Bardella, leader of the RN, in the speech he gave shortly after 8 p.m.

The far-right party and its LR allies won more than 33% of the vote, five points ahead of the New Popular Front (NFP), and twelve points ahead of the presidential coalition Ensemble.

If the vote is confirmed in the second round next Sunday, the RN could obtain between 230 and 280 seats in the National Assembly, while the party only had 89 seats before the dissolution carried out by Emmanuel Macron. But the question of the majority within the National Assembly remains: to have an absolute majority, the RN will need to win 289 seats, which remains uncertain to say the least in view of Sunday’s results, the numerous three-way races and the alliances to come between the two rounds, at the dawn of a week that promises to be full of twists and turns.

Jordan Bardella intends to show that he can take on the role of Prime Minister

During his speech, which lasted just over five minutes, Jordan Bardella spoke to a group of journalists, including the international press.

The exercise seemed to be choreographed to the millimeter: no triumphalism from party officials, nor from supporters who could have punctuated the speech with boos or untimely demonstrations. Jordan Bardella therefore intended to reassure. At 28, the far-right leader, adopting a serious expression, pledged to be “the Prime Minister of all French people […]respectful of oppositions, open to dialogue and concerned at all times with the unity of the nation.”

Hoping to galvanize voters as the second round approaches, the RN leader intends to capitalize on his party’s results, with a view to obtaining an absolute majority.

“Seven days separate us from a historic choice”, he continues, “and I hope that this second round campaign can take place in a calm, honest climate, respectful of institutions and democratic rules.”

Although Jordan Bardella did not mention the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, he did not fail to address a tackle to his adversaries.

“Clearly, given the results, the presidential camp, still largely disavowed today, is no longer in a position to win”he said. Emmanuel Macron’s coalition, which suffered a real setback, could lose up to 180 seats, and keep only 70.

The NFP, for its part, has been called an “alliance of the worst” whose access to power “would lead to disorder, insurrection and the ruin of our economy.”

Jordan Bardella lambasted the NFP, assuring that “Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his friends are putting our nation in existential danger.”

A Republican retreat against the National Rally?

A speech with a solemn tone that contrasted with that of Marine Le Pen, former leader of the party and president of the RN group in the National Assembly.

Facing hundreds of electrified, flag-waving supporters in her stronghold of Hénin-Beaumont, the former party leader declared that Sunday’s results had “destroyed the Macronist bloc”, also confirming his re-election in the first round in his constituency.

In the constituencies where three-way races emerged – a configuration in which more than two candidates obtained more than 12.5% ​​of the vote – which number 250 across the country, the NFP indicated that it would withdraw its candidates who came in third place, in order to avoid a scattering of votes and to form a united front against the RN.

Emmanuel Macron called for a “broad, democratic and republican gathering for the second round”.