The far-right party led by Jordan Bardella surged ahead in the first round of the French legislative elections, positioning itself to potentially seize power for the first time under the Fifth Republic. However, in the two constituencies (9th and 10th) of French expatriates residing in Africa, the results diverged significantly from those in mainland France.
While the legislative elections in France saw a landslide victory for the Rassemblement National (RN) party, this trend did not extend to French voters abroad, particularly in Africa. The 9th and 10th constituencies of French expatriates in Africa, represented by a total of eleven deputies in the National Assembly, showed markedly different outcomes from those in the Metropole.
The 9th constituency spans from Libya to Gabon, covering 16 countries with 130,000 registered voters. The 10th constituency includes South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Somalia, Djibouti, and a total of 28 countries with 113,000 registered voters.
In the 10th constituency, the leading candidates advancing to the second round are Elsa Di Méo from the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), who secured 32.52% of the votes, closely followed by Ensemble’s Amélia Lakrafi with 31.82%. The far-right candidate Jean De Veron, representing the RN, garnered 17.16% of the votes. Thus, a runoff between Elsa Di Méo and Amélia Lakrafi is set for July 7th.
In the 9th constituency, incumbent deputy Karim Ben Cheikh received 51.57% of the votes, surpassing Renaissance-Ensemble’s Samira Djouadi (15.70%) and RN’s Elodie Charron (10.64%). Despite achieving over 50% of the votes, Ben Cheikh was not re-elected outright as the required quorum of registered voters was not met. Consequently, a second round between the NFP and Ensemble will take place next Sunday.
To recap, in the first round of the French legislative elections, the Rassemblement National and its allies led with 33.14% of the votes, followed by the left-leaning Nouveau Front Populaire with 27.99%, and the camp of Emmanuel Macron trailing at 20.04%.
These results highlight the varied political landscapes and voting behaviors of French expatriates in Africa compared to those in mainland France, setting the stage for an intriguing second round in both constituencies.