section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022. They have been described as the most indecisive legislative elections since the establishment of the five-year presidential term in 2000 and subsequent change of the electoral calendar in 2002. The governing Ensemble coalition remained the largest bloc in the National Assembly but substantially lost its ruling majority, resulting in the formation of France's first minority government since 1993; for the first time since 1997, the incumbent president of France did not have an absolute majority in Parliament. As no alliance won a majority, it resulted in a hung parliament for the first time since 1988.
  
  The legislative elections were contested between four principal blocs: the centrist presidential majority Ensemble coalition, including Emmanuel Macron 's Renaissance, the Democratic Movement, Horizons, as well as their allies; the left-wing New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES), encompassing La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Ecologist Pole and the French Communist Party; the centre-right Union of the Right and Centre (UDC), including The Republicans, the Union of Democrats and Independents, as well as their allies; and the far-right National Rally (RN). The NUPES alliance was formed in the two months following the presidential election, in which the left-wing vote had been fragmented; it consisted of the first French Left alliance since the Plural Left in 1997.
  
  In the first round, there was some controversy among the Ministry of the Interior and news media about which bloc finished first, as both the NUPES and Ensemble obtained about 26% of the vote. They were followed by the RN on about 19% and UDC with about 11%. Voter turnout for the first round was a record-low 47.5%. In the second round, when turnout was higher than that of 2017, Macron's Ensemble coalition secured the most seats (245) but fell 44 seats short of an absolute majority. The NUPES was projected to win 131 (Ministry of the Interior) or 142 seats (Le Monde), while RN became the largest parliamentary opposition as a party (89). The UDC received enough seats (64 or 71) to be a kingmaker in the next government but suffered losses.
  
  The results were perceived by political commentators as a dramatic blow for Macron, who, all at once, lost his majority in Parliament, three government ministers (Amélie de Montchalin for Ecological Transition, Brigitte Bourguignon for Health and Justine Bénin for the Sea) and three close parliamentary allies (incumbent president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, Macron's own former Interior minister and head of the LREM parliamentary group Christophe Castaner and MoDem parliamentary group leader Patrick Mignola), all defeated in their constituencies. The 2022 UEFA Champions League final chaos at the Stade de France on 28 May, rape accusations against newly appointed minister Damien Abad or the unusually long period between Macron's reelection as President and the formation of the new Borne government (26 days) have been cited as major factors in Macron's majority wipeout.
  
  Macron's government, which enjoyed a 115-seat majority before the election, now fell at least 38 short of an overall majority, the largest margin for any French Cabinet since 1958. This near-unprecedented situation created potential for political instability and gridlock. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne offered her resignation on 21 June 2022, but Macron refused to accept it. Talks among the various parties to form a stable majority government began later on 21 June but rapidly failed. On 6 July, Prime Minister Borne presented her minority government policy plan to the Parliament.
  
  Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022. They have been described as the most indecisive legislative elections since the establishment of the five-year presidential term in 2000 and subsequent change of the electoral calendar in 2002. The governing Ensemble coalition remained the largest bloc in the National Assembly but substantially lost its ruling majority, resulting in the formation of France's first minority government since 1993; for the first time since 1997, the incumbent president of France did not have an absolute majority in Parliament. As no alliance won a majority, it resulted in a hung parliament for the first time since 1988.
  
  The legislative elections were contested between four principal blocs: the centrist presidential majority Ensemble coalition, including Emmanuel Macron 's Renaissance, the Democratic Movement, Horizons, as well as their allies; the left-wing New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES), encompassing La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Ecologist Pole and the French Communist Party; the centre-right Union of the Right and Centre (UDC), including The Republicans, the Union of Democrats and Independents, as well as their allies; and the far-right National Rally (RN). The NUPES alliance was formed in the two months following the presidential election, in which the left-wing vote had been fragmented; it consisted of the first French Left alliance since the Plural Left in 1997.
  
  In the first round, there was some controversy among the Ministry of the Interior and news media about which bloc finished first, as both the NUPES and Ensemble obtained about 26% of the vote. They were followed by the RN on about 19% and UDC with about 11%. Voter turnout for the first round was a record-low 47.5%. In the second round, when turnout was higher than that of 2017, Macron's Ensemble coalition secured the most seats (245) but fell 44 seats short of an absolute majority. The NUPES was projected to win 131 (Ministry of the Interior) or 142 seats (Le Monde), while RN became the largest parliamentary opposition as a party (89). The UDC received enough seats (64 or 71) to be a kingmaker in the next government but suffered losses.
  
  The results were perceived by political commentators as a dramatic blow for Macron, who, all at once, lost his majority in Parliament, three government ministers (Amélie de Montchalin for Ecological Transition, Brigitte Bourguignon for Health and Justine Bénin for the Sea) and three close parliamentary allies (incumbent president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, Macron's own former Interior minister and head of the LREM parliamentary group Christophe Castaner and MoDem parliamentary group leader Patrick Mignola), all defeated in their constituencies. The 2022 UEFA Champions League final chaos at the Stade de France on 28 May, rape accusations against newly appointed minister Damien Abad or the unusually long period between Macron's reelection as President and the formation of the new Borne government (26 days) have been cited as major factors in Macron's majority wipeout.
  
  Macron's government, which enjoyed a 115-seat majority before the election, now fell at least 38 short of an overall majority, the largest margin for any French Cabinet since 1958. This near-unprecedented situation created potential for political instability and gridlock. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne offered her resignation on 21 June 2022, but Macron refused to accept it. Talks among the various parties to form a stable majority government began later on 21 June but rapidly failed. On 6 July, Prime Minister Borne presented her minority government policy plan to the Parliament.
  
  Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022. They have been described as the most indecisive legislative elections since the establishment of the five-year presidential term in 2000 and subsequent change of the electoral calendar in 2002. The governing Ensemble coalition remained the largest bloc in the National Assembly but substantially lost its ruling majority, resulting in the formation of France's first minority government since 1993; for the first time since 1997, the incumbent president of France did not have an absolute majority in Parliament. As no alliance won a majority, it resulted in a hung parliament for the first time since 1988.
  
  The legislative elections were contested between four principal blocs: the centrist presidential majority Ensemble coalition, including Emmanuel Macron 's Renaissance, the Democratic Movement, Horizons, as well as their allies; the left-wing New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES), encompassing La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Ecologist Pole and the French Communist Party; the centre-right Union of the Right and Centre (UDC), including The Republicans, the Union of Democrats and Independents, as well as their allies; and the far-right National Rally (RN). The NUPES alliance was formed in the two months following the presidential election, in which the left-wing vote had been fragmented; it consisted of the first French Left alliance since the Plural Left in 1997.
  
  In the first round, there was some controversy among the Ministry of the Interior and news media about which bloc finished first, as both the NUPES and Ensemble obtained about 26% of the vote. They were followed by the RN on about 19% and UDC with about 11%. Voter turnout for the first round was a record-low 47.5%. In the second round, when turnout was higher than that of 2017, Macron's Ensemble coalition secured the most seats (245) but fell 44 seats short of an absolute majority. The NUPES was projected to win 131 (Ministry of the Interior) or 142 seats (Le Monde), while RN became the largest parliamentary opposition as a party (89). The UDC received enough seats (64 or 71) to be a kingmaker in the next government but suffered losses.
  
  The results were perceived by political commentators as a dramatic blow for Macron, who, all at once, lost his majority in Parliament, three government ministers (Amélie de Montchalin for Ecological Transition, Brigitte Bourguignon for Health and Justine Bénin for the Sea) and three close parliamentary allies (incumbent president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, Macron's own former Interior minister and head of the LREM parliamentary group Christophe Castaner and MoDem parliamentary group leader Patrick Mignola), all defeated in their constituencies. The 2022 UEFA Champions League final chaos at the Stade de France on 28 May, rape accusations against newly appointed minister Damien Abad or the unusually long period between Macron's reelection as President and the formation of the new Borne government (26 days) have been cited as major factors in Macron's majority wipeout.
  
  Macron's government, which enjoyed a 115-seat majority before the election, now fell at least 38 short of an overall majority, the largest margin for any French Cabinet since 1958. This near-unprecedented situation created potential for political instability and gridlock. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne offered her resignation on 21 June 2022, but Macron refused to accept it. Talks among the various parties to form a stable majority government began later on 21 June but rapidly failed. On 6 July, Prime Minister Borne presented her minority government policy plan to the Parliament.