‘France is holding their breath’: Reporter explains high-stakes French election

well millions in France are voting today in a parliamentary election that could make history with the far right hoping to secure power French president Emanuel macron greeted crowds of supporters after voting in L he shook hands and took selfies with dozens who had gathered outside the polling station the outcome of the two- round election which will wrap up on July 7th could impact European financial markets Western support for Ukraine and how France is nuclear Arsenal and Global military force are managed joining me now is freelance reporter Lisa Lise she’s standing by for us in Paris Lea thank you very much for joining us today thank you for having me uh for the French voting in this election what’s at stake here well a lot is at stake here people here have been calling this a historic election France is holding its breath and as one friend told meia she said you know there were occasions on which the far right the national rally get into the second round of voting in presidential elections but people here somehow fault that in presidential elections they wouldn’t get through this time around the farri national rally is really close to power and might get a majority in Parliament if that is the case the president would have to appoint a prime minister from the national rally and as opposed to as what what many people think you know this is presidential system that’s it’s called a presidential system but actually the Prime Minister and his or her government are holding the keys to the to the castle they’re really in charge of domestic politics and that could be really crucial in the coming years here in France what has led to this swing I know they were talking about them possibly forming a government now they’re talking about a majority for the national rally well what happen really is that the European elections three weeks ago were a large defeat for Iman mcon the Centrist center right president and he was hoping that with this snap election he would take Everybody by surprise he did but a po po opinion polls are showing that’s very unlikely he will you know increase his majority in the last parliamentary legislative elections in 20122 just after he got reelected as a president he got a majority in Parliament but only a a simple majority not an absolute majority the French have historically been really bad at forming coalitions and F finding compromises so when it comes to certain emblematic legislations it has been really difficult for the president to get them through Parliament he felt he was lacking momentum and so he dissolved the parliament but many people were really unhappy really outright angry even his closest allies allies were really angry at the president because they were saying this was the worst possible moment because the far right is really on the on the way up and it will be very difficult to defeat and to defeat the National rally to break that momentum uh tell us a little bit about the leader of the national rally Mar I mean Marie Leen I believe right well it’s Marine Le Pen but the person who uh that everybody’s is you know watching right now is Jordan badela 28 year old leader of the party maren was the presidential candidate but the Prime Minister if the national rally got an outright you know an absolute majority in Parliament would be johnan Baler he’s 28 years old he’s got no professional experience he joined the party at a very young age and he’s first of all really known for his Tik Tok videos you know he’s he’s got this Perfect Image very slick is always on Tik Tok showing himself preparing for a campaign event but he’s also been criticized for being not very well informed for you know being basically quite shallow and just repeating party slogans but it is this image and his videos his very Dynamic videos on Tik Tok that are appealing to many voters and they feel they can vote for him even though some of these voters feel that they couldn’t vote for the national rally in itself which is obviously which you know descends from a party that in the second world war collaborated with the Nazis and vishi and has been known for its very anti-semitic stance for his anti-immigrant stance that’s still in its program right now and also has been known for being traditionally very close to Putin and you know in in a financial way way but also in an ideological way and being very anti-American they want to withdraw from the uh from the from NATO really in the future although obviously during this campaign they haven’t been concentrating on these issues they’ve been talking about you know double nationality for example saying that they want to block people who have two nationalities here in France from getting access to certain strategic posts okay Lisa thank you very much for that update

Lisa Louis, a freelance reporter in Paris, explains what’s at stake as voters head to the polls in the French election.

Subscribe to CTV News to watch more videos:

Connect with CTV News:
For live updates and latest headlines visit:
For breaking news, fast, download the CTV News App:
Must-watch stories and full programs at

CTV News on TikTok:
CTV News on X (formerly Twitter):
CTV News on Reddit:
CTV News on LinkedIn:

—
CTV News is Canada’s most-watched news organization both locally and nationally, and has a network of national, international, and local news operations.

Reference