# French Elections Close

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [April 8, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547 "2022-04-08T22:17:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/41 "2022-04-24T23:04:42Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> I do not have a grasp of French politics so you are correct in that.

Perhaps one might consider refraining from offering lengthy opinions regarding topics on which one concedes one has no grasp.

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**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/42 "2022-04-24T23:07:35Z")

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Perhaps, but I doubt there are any policies of hers (or her party’s) you’d strongly disagree with. I mean Trump supported her for a reason.

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**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/43 "2022-04-24T23:08:18Z")

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TBF I do not see any of UV’s prior posts in this thread as signifying he had “hopes and dreams” for a LePen victory. Only that he suspected there would be many “hidden” LePen votes undetected in the polling. Back here in the US one of the explanations for Trump and the Republicans outperforming the polling was that the polls were being easily fooled by people not reporting their true intentions.

As it turned out, it was Macron who slightly bettered his polls. In relative terms LePen did improve her percentage numbers (but not at all enough) in virtually every departement but the bulk of the other-parties vote went for Macron or for sitting it out.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/44 "2022-04-24T23:11:37Z")

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**Modnote** : To all, no more discussion of UV, that is a sidebar to this thread.

**UltraVires** , you may want to seriously consider not making 9 posts in a 43 post thread if you know nothing about the subject. This is not MPSIMS or The Pit.

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**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/45 "2022-04-25T23:09:32Z")

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This wasn’t really a jungle primary. The 12 qualifying first round candidates represented 12 different parties.

This electoral process was more akin to ranked choice voting. Or even similar to the recent St. Louis mayoral election (that one used approval voting for the first round before going to a second round head to head matchup between the two top voters).

In either case, it wisely avoided any resemblance to our own archaic and unrepresentative system of electing a president.

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**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/46 "2022-04-26T01:10:21Z")

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There is a potential vote-splitting problem in the French system. Though of course that is not nearly as bad as in the US.

Doing some very fuzzy math from the [results](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_French_presidential_election#Results) it looks like if we assume that voters will perfectly fit based on the options available into a far-right bloc, and center-right bloc and a left bloc that the center-right bloc would narrowly come in third. But obviously there are way too many factors to make that assumption. This of course would also mean forming one bloc between the communists and the splitters, oh I mean democratic socialists.

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/47 "2022-06-20T02:46:28Z")

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Results of the National Assembly elections are starting to come in. Looks like Macron will lose his majority in the Assembly and will have to be looking for support from other parties, possibly the rightist Les Républicains .

Far-right National Front did very well, wining ~ 90 seats in the 577 Assembly.

> **[Macron's centrists lose absolute parliamentary majority in French 'democratic...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-parliamentary-elections-1.6494112)**
>
> French President Emmanuel Macron lost control of the National Assembly in legislative elections on Sunday, a major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis unless he is able to negotiate alliances with other parties.

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**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/48 "2022-06-20T02:53:37Z")

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> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> Results of the National Assembly elections are starting to come in. Looks like Macron will lose his majority in the Assembly and will have to be looking for support from other parties, possibly the rightist Les Républicains .

I couldn’t understand from press reports why Les Républicains leadership is against joining a coalition.

Or are they just saying that, as part of bargaining, to get more concessions from Macron’s Renaissance?

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**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/49 "2022-06-20T03:35:42Z")

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From CBC article:

> [@](#):
>
> There is no set script in France for how things will now unfold. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988. “The result is a risk for our country in view of the challenges we have to face,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said…

The article then mentions that Macron could call a snap election if there’s legislative gridlock, which could be, um, interesting.  
In a nail-biting kinda way.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/50 "2022-06-20T04:22:37Z")

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> [@PhillyGuy](#):
>
> I couldn’t understand from press reports why Les Républicains leadership is against joining a coalition.

I don’t know if it works the same in French politics, but the conventional wisdom in parliaments of the Westminster system is that the junior partner in a coalition government tends to get creamed in the next round of elections, with votes going to the senior partner.

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/51 "2022-06-21T21:41:21Z")

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> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#):
>
> The article then mentions that Macron could call a snap election if there’s legislative gridlock, which could be, um, interesting.  
> In a nail-biting kinda way

Doesn’t he have to wait at least a year before he can dissolve the National Assembly and call new elections?

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