With rampant inflation raising the cost of living and eroding wages, Macron found it difficult to capitalize on his re-election in April, with Melanson describing him as a free-market lover with a greater intention of protecting the wealthy than hard-line families. The French progressive newspaper Le Monde reported on Monday that its report showed that the left bloc had won the popular vote nationally and some left-wing politicians said the official result had counted their votes. “Artificially, the Home Office seeks to show Macron’s candidates at the top,” Manuel Bompard, one of Melenchon’s top allies, who is the same candidate for a position in Marseille, told LCI television. He said some candidates, including overseas, who had publicly stated that they supported NUPES but were not officially candidates as part of the bloc should have been included in the official report. Budget Minister Gabriel Atal dismissed Bombard’s comments, saying: “They (the left) always question the facts; it’s their specialty.” Bompard had earlier stated on Twitter that about 200,000 votes for NUPES had not been counted in the official result. He did not present any evidence. Although the result of the first round is an important measure of political temperature, France’s two-round voting system – designed to bring stability – is ultimately expected to favor the Macron bloc. “I think you have to see the end of the fight before you draw any conclusions,” government spokeswoman Olivia Gregoire said Monday. “The campaign is not over yet.” The president’s alliance is well placed to secure the largest number of seats in Sunday’s second round. However, major polling institutes said Macron could lose control of parliament. According to pollster Elabe, the Ensemble will win between 260 and 300 seats in parliament – with an absolute majority of 289 – while the left will secure 170-220 seats, a big increase from the 2017 result. Rival polling company Ipsos expected the Ensemble to win 255 to 295 seats.
