Polls showed voters exiting the polling stations, Sunday, June 27, 2021, that the far right in France was defeated by the traditional right in two main electoral arenas, in a blow to the ambitions of its leader, Marine Le Pen, to reach the presidency.

The southeastern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur was seen as the best chance for the far-right National Rally party to back Le Pen’s claims that she is fit to take over before next year’s presidential election.

Marie Le Pen and her party failed

The poll conducted by Ifop showed that the far-right received 44.2% of the vote in the second round of the elections in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, compared to 55.8% for the conservative movement. Another poll, conducted by the Opening Way, showed that the far-right got 45 percent of the vote, compared to 55 percent for its rivals.

In another major electoral battle today in the northern Hauts-de-France region, polls show the centre-right card headed by conservative Xavier Bertrand, another candidate for the 2022 presidential election, is headed for a comfortable victory over the far-right.

If the predictions turn out to be correct, they will raise questions about how successful Le Pen’s strategy will be to tarnish the image of her anti-immigration and Eurosceptic party in order to try to win over voters from the traditional right.

However, analysts say the apparent failure of Le Pen and her party to win in two strongholds of the far-right should not be overturned in next year’s presidential election.

Le Pen also acknowledged the loss by saying: “This evening, we will not win any region,” speaking of a “deep crisis in local democracy,” but she stressed that “mobilization is the key to victories in the future,” referring to the upcoming presidential elections..

Very poor turnout

According to an AFP report, polling stations closed at 6:00 GMT; That is, eight in France, amid a record abstention. Just an hour before its closure, the Ministry of the Interior announced that the abstention rate reached 66.3%, a significant increase compared to the regional elections in December 2015, when the abstention rate was less than 50%.

About 48 million voters were invited to vote amid strict health measures imposed to limit the spread of the Corona virus, at a time when France is recording a significant decline in the number of Covid-19 infections, but it is facing the threat of the mutated delta.

According to the French agency, in the northern Hauts-de-France region, opinion polls showed that the center-right card headed by conservative Xavier Bertrand, another candidate for the 2022 presidential election, is heading for a comfortable victory over the far-right.

Who will win this election?

Expected to make the biggest gains in local elections, the “traditional” parties, whose presence on the media scene has been weakened in recent years, have been shaken by the surprise election of centrist Emmanuel Macron, who clinched both right and left voters in the 2017 presidential ballot.

The right also appears in a good position to retain the six regions it currently rules, although the competition is likely to be fierce in Ile-de-France (Paris region) or Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

In contrast, alliances between environmentalists, socialists and the rebellious Party of France (far left) should allow the left to win in a number of areas.

The French agency says that this return to the left-right split must be analyzed with caution and nothing to suggest that the competition that all pollsters expect, between Macron and the leader of the National Front party Marine Le Pen in the presidential elections of 2022 is in doubt.

Jerome Saint-Marie, president of the “Bowling-Fox” polling institute, said that “traditional parties benefit from the large network that they have maintained in the regions,” explaining that “the division between the left and the right still exists at the level of local institutions, but it is not currently translated at the level.” the National”.

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