Marine Le Pen becomes leader of the parliamentary group in France

Instead of party chairmanship, Marine Le Pen takes over the leadership of the parliamentary group in the National Assembly.

Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen wants to concentrate fully on her role as parliamentary group leader after her party’s surprise victory in the parliamentary elections in France. In her constituency in Hénin-Beaumont, she announced that she would not resume the chair of the Rassemblement National party, which she had handed over to Jordan Bardella during her presidential campaign. “We are the strongest opposition party.”

Rassemblement National came to 89 seats and thus has about eleven times as many seats as before. It will thus become the third strongest force in parliament, behind the new left-wing alliance of left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The hitherto strongest opposition force and traditional People’s Party of the Republicans came together with allies to 74 seats – a heavy loss. Voter turnout hit a low of 46.23 percent.

Le Pen’s party claimed the chairmanship of the Finance Commission in the National Assembly, which traditionally belongs to the strongest opposition faction. She also wants to nominate the vice president of the National Assembly.

President Emmanuel Macron’s electoral alliance fell far short of an absolute majority of 245 seats in the parliamentary elections. This would have required 289 seats. “We have to sweep our own front door. This is not the result we expected,” said MP Karl Olive, a Macron confidant. The first session of the new National Assembly is scheduled for Wednesday.