Gilles Guillaume and Mimosa Spencer,

PARIS (Reuters – Voting began in France Sunday as part of a parliamentary vote that could see President Emmanuel Macron lose the absolute majority he needed to lead a government with his hands free.

Voting began at 8 am (0600 GMT), and initial projections were expected to be at 8 pm (1800 GMT) in an election which could transform the face of French politics.

According to pollsters, Macron’s party will win the most seats. However, it cannot be certain that the camp will reach the threshold of 289 for absolute majority.

According to opinion polls, the far right is likely to achieve its greatest parliamentary victory in decades. A broad left-green alliance may become the biggest opposition group while the conservatives are kingmakers.

Some voters in Sevres near Paris said that environmental concerns motivated them to vote for the Nupes left-wing coalition.

“During the past 5 years, the presidential majority wasn’t able to meet the challenges of climate change – the current heatwave makes you want to support environmental projects even more,” Leonard Doco, a 21-year-old film student, told Reuters.

Others stated that they don’t trust Jean-Luc Melenchon (leader of the left-wing bloc), who campaigned under slogan “Elect Me Prime Minister”. He promised to reduce the retirement age by 60 years from 62 and freeze prices. Companies will also be prohibited from firing workers, if the dividends are paid.

Melenchon is a hypocrite. He promises things that aren’t true. He makes promises that are impossible to keep.

The results from France’s overseas division brought down Macron with the loss of his minister for maritime affairs in her Caribbean constituency. This election has 15 candidates and Macron said that if any of them lose, they will have to resign.

Macron’s party may not win an absolute majority. This would create uncertainty. It could either be resolved by power sharing among the parties, which is rare in France in the last decades. Or it could lead to prolonged paralysis that will force another round of parliamentary elections.

REJUVENATED LEFT

Macron was elected to a second term. He wants to raise the retirement age and continue his pro-business agenda.

French voters traditionally use legislative polls to elect a president. Francois Mitterrand’s 1988 victory was a rare exception.

Macron and his allies may still be able to achieve this.

However, the revitalized left has a challenge to face as inflation continues to drive up living expenses. This shockwave ripples across the French political scene.

Officials in these parties suggested that Macron’s allies may try to recruit MPs from the centre right or conservatives if they fail an absolute majority.

If they fail to win, they can either form an alliance or form a minor government. They will need to make individual decisions and negotiate legislation with other parties.

Even if Macron’s party wins the 289 seats it requires to stay in power, this is most likely due to Edouard Philippe his ex-prime minister, who will demand more control over what the government does.

Macron’s top-down style of power has been admired for five years. Now he is looking to a new mandate, where he will have to reach more compromises.

A poll shows that the Nupes of the Left led by Melenchon have not won a majority in a poll. This scenario could lead to the second-largest economy in the Euro Zone into an uncertain period of cohabitation with a prime minister and president from two different political parties.