Far-right leader Jordan Bardella called on French voters on Tuesday to grant his party an absolute majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections, emphasizing the need for effective governance.
Bardella, whose National Rally (RN) party has a real chance to seize national power in the June 30 and July 7 ballot, tempered some of his party’s commitments by stating they would not immediately cut VAT on a list of 100 essential goods.
Opinion polls have consistently ranked the eurosceptic, anti-immigration RN first since President Emmanuel Macron’s surprising decision earlier this month to dissolve parliament.
However, analysts projecting second-round outcomes for France’s 577 constituencies suggest that the RN may fall short of securing the absolute majority necessary for unilateral legislative power and the ability to pass laws without coalition partners.
Marine Le Pen, the RN’s former leader and the party’s candidate in France’s upcoming presidential election scheduled for 2027, was urged by Bardella, 28, to rally behind him and support his plan to rapidly reduce VAT on energy from 20% to 5.5%, which he hopes to implement as his first move as prime minister, according to the paper.