THE FRENCH elections have spiralled into mayhem with more than 50 people injured in brawls and one candidate fired for sporting a Nazi hat.
During what is likely the country’s most divisive vote ever, tens of thousands of riot cops have been dispatched to the streets to quell unrest.
Hundreds of left-wing protestors flooded the streets after Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally party made huge gains in the first round of their elections last Sunday.
Riots broke out in Paris, Marseille and Nantes as France’s notorious riot police deployed tear gas to squash the unrest.
Following the disastrous results for French President Macron, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the far right were at the “gates of power”.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin revealed today that there have been 51 attacks on candidates and activists in this first week since the initial vote.
France’s second vote, on Sunday, will determine the final result.
Some of these instances have been “extremely serious” attacks and around thirty arrests have been made.
Marine Le Pen’s party has been hit before with far-right extremist accusations.
Despite attempts to move away from this extreme image before the 2024 election, certain candidates in the party have sparked fury.
Ludivine Daoudi, standing for RN in Normandy, pulled out entirely after a screenshot from her Facebook was shared showing her in a Nazi hat.
The grab, taken of an old photograph, showed her wearing the cap which bore a swastika, France 24 reports.
Philippe Chapron, a local RN official, said on Tuesday: “She doesn’t deny it, she took this photo.
“Indeed it was in bad taste. In any case, her candidacy will be withdrawn as of today.”
One of Macron’s own supporters Virginie Lanlo was attacked so brutally their jaw was broken.
The Renaissance party activist was out hanging up campaign posters in Parisian suburbs at around 8pm when violence erupted, Le Parisien reports.
A mob of around ten suddenly emerged and four or five of the thugs attacked some of the group in Meudon-la-Forêt, Hauts-de-Seine.
Le Parisien said: “Virginie Lanlo and one of her activists were then allegedly hit with a scooter. Both are at Percy Hospital in Clamart.”
Despite initial fears that Le Pen’s RN party would secure a ruling majority, polls now indicate this isn’t likely to be the case.
According to an OpinionWay poll in French outlet Les Echos, RN are expected to win between 205 and 230 seats in Sunday’s vote.
They would need 289 for a ruling majority.
French President Macron declared a snap election in May, taking a gamble which looks to have backfired as his own party is only expected to secure 130 to 162 seats.
France is known for its long history of political protests.
Some demonstrations in recent years have turned violent – with molotov cocktails, firebombs, police batons, tear gas and petrol bombs being unleashed on the streets.
THE French public choose their president and MPs in separate elections – unlike in the UK where the country’s leader, the PM, is determined by which party has a majority in parliament.
There are 577 seats – and constituencies – in France’s National Assembly.
For an absolute majority in government a party would need 289 seats.
France’s parliamentary elections are made up of two rounds, with the first kicking out anyone who fails to win 12.5% of votes in their area.
If any candidates get more than 50% of the vote in their area, and at least a quarter of the local voter pool turns out to cast their ballot, they win a seat automatically.
This doesn’t happen very often, but RN thinks this time it could happen in dozens of seats.
The second round, for any seats which candidates do not win outright, is then a series of knock-outs fought either by two, three or sometimes four candidates.
Some candidates may drop out before the second round on July 7 to give their allies a better chance over another candidate in a three or four-way race.
French leaders are urging candidates and voters to act tactically to stop the far-right surge.
But polling shows voters may be unwilling to vote tactically and to form the so-called “Republican Front” – a united movement to block for the National Rally.
A poll by Odoxa found that only 41 per cent of voters were willing to vote to block the RN – while some 47 per cent would vote to stop NFP or some 44 per cent to stop Together.
