Macron’s majority at risk as voters elect new parliament

Bloomberg

French voters begin the process of electing a parliament on Sunday in a two-stage ballot that will determine how much power recently re-elected President Emmanuel Macron will actually have. If polls are right, he should maintain control, perhaps only barely.
The latest surveys suggest Macron’s renamed party, Renaissance, and its allies should remain the largest bloc in the 577-seat parliament. But just like his margin of victory narrowed sharply in April’s presidential election from his result five years ago, Macron’s majority in the National Assembly is also projected to shrink or may even disappear.
At noon, participation in the election stood at 18.4%, down from 19.2% at the same time during the previous poll five years ago, according to the the Interior Ministry.
An absolute majority would allow Macron to push through his postponed plan to raise the retirement age, lower taxes and push ahead on his “green” transition plans. If he falls short, the government would often be forced to pick up extra votes to pass laws, either by forming a coalition with another party or by pulling in votes on a case-by-case basis. That scenario would, at minimum, require concessions, and forming a coalition could mean giving ministerial positions to rival parties to cement cooperation.