Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Today we will be focusing on the latest in France, ahead of Sunday’s second round of elections.
Stay tuned and send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
Key events
Sandrine Rousseau, from the Ecologists, said she is opposed to a coalition with members of Macron’s camp.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, gave an interview on French channel LCI yesterday evening.
In 2011, Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York and accused of raping a hotel chambermaid. He denied the rape accusations, that were later dropped, and he subsequently settled a civil claim for an undisclosed sum. A French journalist also accused him of attempted rape, which he denied.
Édouard Philippe, a former prime minister, indicated in an interview on TF1 this morning that he will vote for a communist candidate in his constituency in order to oppose the far right.
He reiterated his concerns about France Unbowed.
Louis Aliot, vice president of the far right National Rally, said this morning that he believes French people are more afraid of France Unbowed than of his party.
Gabriel Attal, the French prime minister and a Macron ally, has called for blocking the far right from getting a majority.
“Everything separates me from France Unbowed,” he said, noting however that the hard left party is not in a position to get a majority while the far right is in a situation where it could be in a position to govern.
François Hollande, a former French president from the socialist party, has said that the New Popular Front has allowed to “rebalance” the left.
221 candidates withdraw from French election
Yesterday at 6pm, candidates in France faced a deadline to register for Sunday’s second round of legislative elections.
Amid pressure for a republican front to limit the success of the far right, many candidates candidates withdrew for races.
According to Le Monde’s latest count this morning, 221 candidates have withdrawn from races since Sunday’s first round of elections.
By this morning, according to the newspaper, 94 three-way races are still expected to take place, and one four-way race.
Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Today we will be focusing on the latest in France, ahead of Sunday’s second round of elections.
Stay tuned and send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.