World

Four takeaways from French legislative elections

Published

1 year ago

July 1, 2024

Four takeaways from French legislative elections

Here are some of the key takeaways from the French snap legislative elections.

For the second time in under a month, the ruling centrist coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron was dealt a heavy blow on Sunday by the far-right National Rally (RN) which secured the top position in the first round of the country’s snap legislative elections.

Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called the snap election on 9 June after RN swept to victory in the European elections, obtaining more than double the number of votes Macron’s centrist coalition did.

Macron’s decision to call the election was described by commentators as either a ploy that could grant him the absolute majority he lost two years ago or a dangerous gamble that could see the far-right helm a government for the first time in the country.

Which is it? Euronews brings you the main takeaways from the first round.

Far-right makes historic gains

The National Rally (RN), led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, appears to have cemented its position as the country’s main political force by securing over 33% of the vote nationwide.

If the score is confirmed next Sunday in the second round, the party could secure between 230 and 280 seats – just nine seats short of an absolute majority.

Bardella pledged on Sunday that he would be “the prime minister for all the people of France … respectful of the opposition, open to dialogue and concerned at all times with the unity of the people” all while taking swipes at Macron’s alliance and the left-wing New Popular Front.

The second round, he added, will be “one of the most decisive (votes) in the history of the Fifth Republic”.

The far-right’s gains in the first round marked a historic performance for the party in a legislative election.

In 2017, the then-called National Front gained 13% of the vote in the first round and 2022, they received 18% of the vote.

Tara Varma, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, told Euronews that “what we see is that people are no longer ashamed to vote for the National Rally”.

“Not only are they no longer ashamed to do so, but they are no longer ashamed to say so,” she said.

While a scenario where the RN wins the absolute majority in parliament may not be the “most probable,” it cannot be “excluded,” she said.

Macron’s big loss

Three weeks after suffering a crushing defeat in the European elections, Macron’s centrist coalition, Ensemble, was dealt another devastating blow by coming in third with just 21% of the nationwide vote.

That’s 12 points and seven points below the far-right RN and the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, respectively.

About 300 of its candidates are still in contention for a seat in the 577-seat hemicycle. But if its first-round score is confirmed next Sunday, it could mean the centrist coalition could shed as many as 180 seats and retain only between 70 and 100 MPs.

Provided no other alliance gets an absolute majority, Macron could in theory try to form a ruling coalition but that might be a tall order.

The presidential camp has repeatedly rejected any notion of working with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party with Macron himself saying that if the RN or LFI were to get into power, it could lead to “civil war”.

Parties that Macron could therefore try to rally for a more “moderate” coalition include the Socialists and the Greens on the left and the Republicans on the right.

But it’s unclear if they could find a landing zone or if they would jointly have the 289 seats needed.

Could there be a ‘Republican front’ against the RN?

Within minutes of the exit poll showing the far-right National Rally largely in the lead, political leaders on the left started calling for a so-called “Republican front”.

They pledged to withdraw third-place candidates who qualified for the second round in an effort to prevent the RN from winning seats due to a split vote between the other parties.

This is true of LFI, the Socialists, Greens, and Communists, and also of certain members of Macron’s centrist coalition.

“I say this with all the force that each and every one of our voters must muster. Not a single vote must go to the National Rally,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in his speech on Sunday.

Other members of the president’s coalition have called on their voters not to support members of LFI, saying that neither the RN nor the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which is part of the left-wing coalition, should get a vote.

For Mathias Bernard, a specialist in French political history and president of the University of Clermont Auvergne, “withdrawals or, conversely, triangular contests are the key to the election.”

“If each of the three blocs goes it alone in the second-round battle, the RN is likely to win an absolute majority. If there is a sort of ‘Republican front’, it will be more difficult for the RN,” he told Euronews.

“However, it is not certain that this “Republican front” will materialise,” he said, naming Ensemble and the Republicans as the two parties where third-placed candidates might most resist being asked to withdraw.

High turnout in snap election

There was intense interest in the snap poll called by Macron, with several voters telling Euronews ahead of the vote that they were disappointed with the president’s policies and wanted change.

Turnout, which is often low in France, increased significantly during these elections.

In the first round of the 2017 and 2022 legislative elections, the participation rate did not reach 50%, according to interior ministry figures. The first round of this poll saw the participation rise to 66.7%.

“High turnout and fewer candidates led to an unprecedented number of three-way contests in the second round,” according to Célia Belin, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Paris office.

The presidential coalition’s refusal to systematically withdraw due to the presence of LFI candidates, however, could “increase anti-RN voters’ confusion about the best course of action,” she said.

Manon Aubry, a leftist EU lawmaker, told reporters on Sunday that she met many first-time young voters when she went to vote in Paris.

This mobilisation, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, should be welcomed and amplified, she said.

The results also sparked protests in the country, with thousands of left-wing voters gathering over the gains of the far-right.

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World

Video: A 12-Year-Old Girl’s Battle With Malnutrition in Gaza

Published

8 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Video: A 12-Year-Old Girl’s Battle With Malnutrition in Gaza

new video loaded: A 12-Year-Old Girl’s Battle With Malnutrition in Gaza

Hoda Abu al-Naja, 12, was diagnosed with celiac disease and struggled with severe malnutrition for months. Amid an Israeli siege that blocked aid into the strip, she was unable to maintain a gluten-free diet.

By Nader Ibrahim, Saher Alghorra For The New York Times, Bilal Shbair and Ben Hubbard

December 26, 2025

World

Nigeria says it shared intelligence to support US strikes on ISIS

Published

9 hours ago

December 26, 2025

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Nigeria says it shared intelligence to support US strikes on ISIS

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Nigeria said it shared intelligence with the U.S. ahead of Christmas night airstrikes on ISIS targets in the country.

The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that it was “engaged in structured security cooperation” with other nations, including the U.S., adding that the cooperation “led to precision hits on terrorist targets.” The ministry said that the joint security efforts include the sharing of intelligence and strategic coordination.

“Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the ministry wrote in a statement posted on X.

TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA OFFERS HOPE TO NATION’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

Members of St. Leo Catholic Church hold a procession to mark Palm Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, on April 13, 2025. (Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump announced the Christmas night airstrikes in northwest Nigeria, saying the targets were ISIS militants who he accused of killing Christians. The president also included a warning that further attacks would take place if the violence against Christians continued.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social.

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.

“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” he continued. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

A drone view of Christians departing St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church after a Sunday mass in Palmgrove, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 2, 2025. (Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters)

NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN LEADER CALLS TRUMP’S SPOTLIGHT ON VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA AN ‘ANSWERED PRAYER’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Christian charity, Open Doors said its sources in Nigeria said, “the airstrikes have hit terrorist camps in Jabo, a rural community in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, with multiple ISIS militants reportedly killed.

Jabo is a predominantly Fulani town in Sokoto State and has been identified as a haven for militants and a link to neighboring states like Kebbi and Zamfara. To the best of our knowledge there is no church presence in Jabo.

Right now, there are fears of retaliation because of the airstrike.”

Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.

Gunmen pick up the belongings left behind by worshippers who ran for cover after hearing gunshots, as they walk into a Church in Eruku, Kwara state, Nigeria, November 18, 2025, in this picture obtained from social media. (Social media/via Reuters)

US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES ATROCITIES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA ‘GENOCIDE’

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, who has been outspoken about the violence against Christians in Nigeria, praised the strikes. The ambassador said the precision strikes showed Christians in Nigeria and around the world that Trump would “fight for them.”

Last month, Trump threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”

That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said fulfilled the president’s demand that the killings stop. Hegseth also included in a post on X a reference to the U.S.-Nigeria cooperation that led to the strikes.

“The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The [War Department] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria have been under attack in recent months, prompting global outrage and drawing the ire of the Trump administration.

In November, armed gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, killed two people and kidnapped dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.

The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church was preceded and followed by attacks on Christian schools in Nigeria.

In the days before the attack, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. One of the girls managed to escape on the same day as the kidnapping, while the remaining 24 were rescued about a week later, The Associated Press reported.

Days after the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, armed attackers raided the Saint Mary’s School and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 of the students were able to escape in the following days, while 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

World

Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

Published

11 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

BREAKING,

Breakaway region achieves diplomatic breakthrough after more than 30 years without international recognition

Published On 26 Dec 2025

Israel has become the first nation in the world to formally recognise Somaliland, ending the breakaway region’s three-decade quest for international legitimacy.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Friday that Israel and the Republic of Somaliland had signed an agreement establishing full diplomatic relations, including the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies in both countries.

The historic accord marks a significant breakthrough for Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has failed to gain recognition from any United Nations member state.

Somaliland controls the northwestern of the former British Protectorate on what is today northern Somalia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the new friendship as “seminal and historic” in a video call with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, inviting him to visit Israel and calling it a “great opportunity to expand their partnership.”

Saar said the agreement followed a year of extensive dialogue between the two governments and was based on a joint decision by Netanyahu and Abdullahi.

“We will work together to promote the relations between our countries and nations, regional stability and economic prosperity,” Saar wrote on social media, adding that he had instructed his ministry to immediately institutionalise ties across a wide range of fields.

More to come…