Episode Details

We just witnessed a political paradox in France. Conservatives tallied the most votes, but the socialists of the Macron government won power in the French National Assembly. This is a by-product of creating voting schemes that seek equitable outcomes instead of representative or democratic ones.

As reported by the Leftist and all-too-often propagandistic Associated Press:

“A Leftist coalition, the New Popular Front, has won the most seats in the 2024 French legislative election, beating back a far-Right surge but failing to win a majority. The outcome leaves France facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and threatens political paralysis in a pillar of the European Union…

“…they had just days to come together. The leaders of France’s Left-wing parties have acknowledged they made compromises to unite in an effort to keep the far-Right National Rally Party from taking power in France.

“The New Popular Front, named after a similar coalition formed in the 1930s against the rise of fascism in France…includes environmentalist parties, the French Socialists & Communists, and the hard-Left France Unbowed Party.”

While Macron’s gambit in calling snap elections blocked the possibility of National Rally president Jordan Bardella from becoming the next prime minister, he did so by artificially elevating the far-Left, with his candidates standing down in certain constituencies to give the best chance of defeating the RN.

So, the far-Right National Rally Party led France's snap elections on Sunday with 33% of the vote, with the Leftist alliance New Popular Front following in second place at almost 28%, and President Macron's ruling coalition trailing in third place with 20%. Yet, after the second round of voting, the results showed just over 180 seats for the New Popular Front Leftist coalition, Macron’s ruling coalition with more than 160 seats, and the far-Right National Rally Party diminished to a restricted to third place with just over 140 seats. France will have a hung parliament because of the system, not the voters. 

The French-Socialist Voting Scheme

The French election system, strategic voting, and the increased popularity of other parties contributed to the conservative bloc winning a majority of votes but losing seats in the 2024 legislative elections.

The French election system is a hybrid system that combines elements of both the “first-past-the-post” and proportional representation methods. The country is divided into 577 electoral districts, and each district elects a single representative to the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament.

Candidates who receive an absolute majority of votes in the first round of voting are elected outright. If no candidate achieves this majority, a second round of voting takes place between the top two candidates, and the candidate with the most votes in the second round is elected.

In the 2024 legislative elections, the conservative bloc, which primarily consists of the Republicans and the Union of Democrats & Independents, won a majority of votes. However, they lost seats in the National Assembly. Seem inequitable? Does it seem like the far-Left stated electoral goal of “one person, one vote” is being tortured? You wouldn’t be wrong.

By all intents and purposes, the conservative bloc in France won the election and, by right, that majority should mandate the country's direction. But a system designed to provide “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has put the fundamental task of free elections on its head. The winner loses, and the losers, well, win.

The conservative bloc lost seats in the National Assembly due to several factors:

* Strategic Voting: Some voters who preferred the conservative bloc chose to vote for other parties in the first round to preven