By Athena Papakosta

THE Emmanuel Macron took the risk and announced parliamentary elections in France, but the opinion polls confirm what the critics of the French president’s decision say and show the rise of the Far Right to power.

The parliamentary elections scheduled for June 30 and July 7 in France are among the most important in Europe in decades.

For the first time, the Far Right hopes to form a government in a country that is a nuclear power and a member of the European Union, NATO and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Markets are worried. France is the 7th strongest economy in the world, and if it falters it could put the Eurozone at risk.

Her party Marine Le PenNational Rally, needs at least 289 seats to have an absolute parliamentary majority in the French national assembly and according to the latest opinion polls it is reported to win between 195 and 245 seats, which will be a very significant increase from the 88 MPs it currently has.

If he actually wins the election and gathers the required majority in parliament, then the French president will need to politically co-exist with the National Rally and appoint Le Pen’s party as the country’s next prime minister. In this case, all eyes fall on him Jordan Bardelawho of course requires an absolute majority to lead the new government.

So far, the National Coalition has extended a hand of cooperation to Eric Ciotti’s Republicans, causing an earthquake in the Gaulish party, while it has closed the door to Eric Zemur’s Recapture party.

The question remains whether Marine Le Pen will invest in coalition talks at the risk of… discounts to her political profile in the run-up to Elysee’s bid for the 2027 presidential election – a goal that could also be lost if she wins majority in parliamentary elections but fails to manage power.

At the same time, the parties of the Left quickly overcame their differences and united and formed the New People’s Front. It is about Insubordinate France, the strengthened Socialists after the European elections, the Communist Party and the Greens.

According to opinion polls, they could win between 190 and 235 seats, which means they will have to find one more ally for a parliamentary majority.

On the other hand, Macron’s party, which currently has 250 seats, according to opinion polls, is expected to win less than 100, finishing third. This means that many of his MPs will “fall out” from the first round in various of the 577 constituencies. Their voters in the second round, if they go to the polls, will find themselves between two options, that of the National Rally and that of the New People’s Front, with the vote of the majority likely to be considered a given in favor of the Left.

The math remains difficult, but so are predictions for the next day in France, which is at a critical crossroads.

Emmanuel Macron is losing and he knows it. But he hopes that he will eventually form a parliamentary majority with his own deputies, most of the Left and perhaps some of the center-right. As analysts explain, this was not possible before, as the dominant party in the field of the Left was Mélenchon’s Independent France, but after the European elections, the Socialists emerged as the dominant force and the deck can be re-dealt.