The far-right Réunion Nacional (RN) party suffered a shock defeat in a by-election on Sunday, which its critics say is a sign that voters are punishing it for its attempt last week to oust the government of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The close vote in the Ardennes left Marine Le Pen’s RN with 124 MPs – a setback, although it remains the largest party in the 577-seat Parliament. RN did not respond to a request for comment or mention the defeat on his social media.
President Emmanuel Macron continued holding meetings with left-wing leaders on Monday as he sought to name a new prime minister.
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Green Party leader Marine Tondelier said the RN had “put itself out of the game” and that the party’s influence over national politics was diminishing as a result of its decision to oust Barnier.
In the supplementary election, Lionel Vuibert – running as an independent but with close ties to Macron’s centrist coalition – won 50.9% in a second round in the first voting district, where the far right has had strong support. Vuibert had campaigned against the motion of no confidence.
Jordan Duflot, from RN, who obtained the highest percentage in the first round and called for the overthrow of the government during the campaign in the second round, obtained 49.1%.
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Voter turnout was low, around 30%.
Vuibert’s “victory is a strong signal” against “those who want censorship, inaction and chaos”, wrote Xavier Bertrand, a center-right politician who was considered by the press as a possible prime minister, in X.
Former prime minister Gabriel Attal congratulated Vuibert for his “seriousness and closeness” to voters.
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“Attention to the daily lives of the French prevails over the chaos desired by Marine Le Pen and the extremes,” Attal wrote in X.
The by-election was called after the RN incumbent resigned for unspecified health reasons.
In a sign of the importance of the vote, RN President Jordan Bardella traveled to the district to drum up support for Duflot, but it was not enough.
