Opinion: French voters save the Republic. Now comes the (really) hard part

Opinion by Marie Le Conte

(CNN) — France’s legislative election results shocked — but also delighted — much of the public, especially those on the left. The seemingly relentless march to power by the likes of far-right stalwart Marine Le Pen has been halted — at least for now.

The left wing of French politics once again has a sense of its own purpose and power: the ability of its voters to achieve big things, and to do the right thing. This is why it was heartening to see so many people celebrating across the country Sunday night, as the improbably resounding election results came out. They deserved it.

The political earthquake that had been feared after last week’s first round of voting — when initial results showed the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) on the brink of taking power — has been averted. The New Popular Front (NFP) — a hastily assembled coalition of France’s center-left, far left and Greens — emerged with the most seats in Sunday’s decisive second round. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance came in second, preventing the far right from taking power.

The stakes couldn’t have been higher, and it is hard to overstate the sense of urgency with which French voters flocked to the polls. Turnout for the second round was the highest since 1981. People who’d gotten used to staying at home on election days were brought back into the fold. That first round of voting last Sunday seemed to show the RN on the verge of forming France’s first far-right government since the collaborationist Vichy regime of World War II.

Instead, the country is now left with two large electoral blocs – the center and the left — which came together after a week of political bargaining in which more than 200 left-wing and centrist candidates withdrew from the second round in a bid to avoid splitting the vote.

It ought to be noted, however, that under half of centrist voters went for the left in a run-off against the far right. An astonishing 72% of left-wing voters in the opposite situation voted tactically, leading the coalition to historic electoral success.

Still, it was only the beginning — and the easy part.

Yes, the left woke up Monday to a brand-new day, but the country also awakened to a newly fractured and fractious National Assembly. Out of 577 seats, the Popular Front has 182, Ensemble 163, and the Rassemblement National 143. Other, smaller parties share the remaining 84. The left doesn’t have long to show that they are correct in thinking that, this time, they could actually change things for the better.

It is currently impossible to predict how this unwieldy and misshapen parliament will succeed.

The Popular Front is itself a coalition, which managed to work well enough together during what was a short, tight and high-pressure campaign. Governing together would prove to be more of a challenge. Back in 2022, a somewhat similar alliance was formed for the legislative elections, and it descended into internecine wars about as quickly as most had expected.

It will find common ground on some issues, but it is hard to see them coming up with a cohesive party line on major issues at the national and international level over the next few years. Still, they may find they have little choice. The French center has run out of breath, and the left doesn’t have long to prove itself. The traditional right, meanwhile, is nowhere to be seen.

Still, for just one more day, the French can be forgiven for wanting to bask in its weekend election triumph. Many had assumed that it was a foregone conclusion that the far right would win a majority, absolute or otherwise. They hadn’t counted on the resolve of the left in quickly cobbling together an alliance that saved the republic.

It wasn’t the first time they had done so; in 2002, 2018 and 2022, France had found itself on the brink of a far-right government. On all those occasions, and again last week, many held their noses and voted for the center to keep the far right in check.

It worked this time, as it did previously, but Le Pen and her ilk aren’t going anywhere. Presidential elections are coming in 2027, meaning that her party has time to recover then get ready to pounce again.

The left doesn’t have long to get its act together.

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