They were once viewed as a fringe movement. But after winning a third of the vote in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party may now become the first far-right party to enter the French government since World War II.

That will depend on results from next Sunday’s second round.

Will Denselow reports.

To discuss:

• Yves Sintomer is a political science professor at Paris 8 University and an associate at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield College.
• Klaus Larres is a history and international affairs professor with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Richard Werly is the international correspondent for the Swiss daily newspaper, Blick.
• Joav Toker is an associate professor at the American Graduate School in Paris.

For more:

Crowds gather at Place de la Republique in Paris after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally dominate the first round of legislative elections in France https://t.co/hL62G4cwII pic.twitter.com/gTGcDkwkO8

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) June 30, 2024

French elections: turnout.#AFPGraphics shows the turnout rate for the 1st round of the French parliamentary elections since 1958 pic.twitter.com/B9S7DsU9m5

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 1, 2024