But that was well short of the absolute majority needed to control parliament, initial projections and first results showed. The last time a newly elected president failed to get an outright majority in parliamentary elections was in 1988. The leftist Nupes bloc he heads came second, initial projections showed. The two together have a chance at an absolute majority in final results, which requires at least 289 seats in the lower house. “Nothing would be worse than adding French disorder to the world’s disorder,” the president had said ahead of the second-round vote.

Source: CBC News June 19, 2022 22:32 UTC