Why Le Pen Just Lost Her Best Chance to Win French Election
- Regional ballots are more favorable for insurgent parties
- Socialists, traditional right united to block National Front
NF Defeat Halts Le Pen’s Presidential Dream
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The failure of Marine Le Pen’s National Front to win a single region in the runoffs puts an end -- at least for the moment -- to any talk of her becoming president of France.
Regional elections, with their low turnout and proportional system, favor insurgent parties like the National Front, as illustrated by its strong showing in the first round a week ago. Yet in Sunday’s second round, voters from the left and the traditional right ganged up to deliver a series of defeats nationwide to the anti-European Union, anti-immigrant party.