Le Pen

French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) RN's parliamentary group President Marine Le Pen walks past a placard which reads "Let's prepare an alernative to a single-party system" as she attends the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) RN party's parliamentary seminar at the French National Assembly in Paris on Sept. 15, 2024.

France's new right-wing Prime Minister Michel Barnier started consulting all sides on Sept. 6 to cobble together a government capable of mustering a majority in parliament after two months of political deadlock.

The 73-year-old, a former foreign minister who recently acted as the European Union's Brexit negotiator, is the oldest premier in the history of modern France.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen for rare talks Monday, as pressure mounts for him to finally name a prime minister after July's inconclusive parliamentary poll.

France woke up today to an unprecedented atmosphere following early parliamentary elections that resulted in a National Assembly divided into three, without an absolute majority and with a fragile left-wing coalition emerging victorious.

France votes in legislative elections Sunday that will be decisive in determining its political future and could see the far right become the largest party in parliament for the first time.

Stefanos Kasselakis, leader of the left-wing Greek opposition SYRIZA party, congratulated the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour Party for their "huge victory" in Thursday's elections.

In a social media post on Friday, Kasselakis praised Labour's mission as an inspiration to all progressive parties in Europe. 

French far right three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen Thursday said her National Rally (RN) party was still capable of winning an absolute majority in the second round of legislative elections this weekend.

A campaigner distributes election leaflets of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) for RN candidate Sandrine Chadourne on July 2, 2024 at a market in Libourne, southwestern France.

People gather at Republique plaza to protest the far-right National Rally, which came out strongly ahead in first-round legislative elections, Sunday, June 30, 2024.

European markets reacted positively to the results of the first round of parliamentary voting in France, with the euro strengthening on the foreign exchange market and stocks opening higher on Monday. Marine Le Pen's National Rally secured the lead in the election, but with a smaller margin than anticipated by pre-election polls.