French Parliament to Test New Power Balance for First Time
New York TimesJul 10
France: National Rally Blocked From Key Positions in Parliament
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The Facts
Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Rally — the largest single party in France's National Assembly — has ended up without any top positions within the lower chamber after its opponents denied it leadership roles.
This comes as the National Rally belongs to a so-called political family that is placed third, trailing the left-wing NFP coalition and Pres. Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble (Together) coalition by 51 and 24 seats, respectively.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Even as they are currently in a political deadlock, left to center-right parties in France have cooperated to defeat the anti-immigrant National Rally in the battle for key positions in the National Assembly — just as they did in the second round of the elections. If there's any certainty in French politics, it's that the far-right won't be in the next government.
Establishment-critical narrative
The distribution of key positions within the National Assembly had traditionally been made to ensure political diversity — at least until the French made the National Rally the largest single party, as undemocratic moves have shut it out of any management roles. If the party can't exercise its representative mandate, France will have become a sham democracy.