Courtesy of Mish.
Be prepared for the Socialists to wreck France. The Guardian reports French Socialists on course to score absolute majority in parliament and President François Hollande is about to get a free hand in his response to country’s economic crisis.
The left has scored well in the first round of French parliamentary elections, leaving the Socialist party within reach of an absolute majority that would give François Hollande, the president, a free hand in his approach to dealing with the economic crisis.
The Socialists need 289 out of the 577 seats in the national assembly to take an absolute majority in the final runoff on Sunday 17 June.
First-round results show the Socialists are predicted to take between 275 and 315 seats, according to polling company TNS Sofres, and could make up the numbers with the backing of their electoral allies, the Greens.
The first round vote results suggest that the broad left will dominate parliament. Early results and estimates showed the left in general taking 47%, the right 35% and the far-right Front National 13%.
One of the biggest defeats of Sunday evening was Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the firebrand hardline leftist from the Front de Gauche. He had stood in a high-profile, deprived Pas-de-Calais constituency in a personal battle against Front National leader Marine Le Pen, but was knocked out in the first round.
Le Pen will now face a Socialist in the runoff. Mélenchon said he was disturbed by Le Pen’s high score and would continue to fight the far right.
If the Socialists win an absolute majority, it would be the first time in modern history that the party had control of both houses of the French parliament: the assembly and the senate.
Implications Not Pretty
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