The far right seems to dominate the French elections
The National Rally party crushed its opponents in the first round of voting for the French National Assembly, according to early projections, bringing its long-taboo brand of nationalist and anti-immigrant politics to the brink of power.
Pollsters’ generally reliable projections suggested the party would win about 34 percent of the vote, well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and his allies, which won about 21 percent. A coalition of leftist parties won about 29 percent of the vote, according to projections.
The results, in a two-round election that will end in a second round on July 7 between the main parties in each constituency, do not provide an accurate forecast of the number of parliamentary seats each party will win. But it now seems very likely that the National Rally will be the largest force in the lower house, although not necessarily with an absolute majority.
For Macron, the result represented a severe setback after he bet that his party’s heavy defeat to the National Rally in the recent European Parliament elections would not be repeated. His decision to hold the election now, just weeks before the Paris Olympics, surprised many people in France, including his own prime minister, whom he kept in the dark.
Whats Next: Macron called for “a large, clearly democratic and republican alliance” to win in the second round of voting, but has struggled to form stable coalitions.
Analysis: Both France and the United States face nationalist forces that could overturn their international commitments and take the world into uncharted territory.
Iran’s elections go to a second round
Iranian voters used the country’s presidential election on Friday to signal their discontent with Iran’s clerical system of government, trudging to the polls in record numbers to help two candidates limp into a runoff.
The final choice will be between a reformist former health minister, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, and an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili. Neither man received more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning a runoff election on July 5 will be necessary to determine who will address challenges such as Iran’s difficult economy and the risk of broader conflict in the Middle East.
The campaign was notable for the candidates’ candor in attacking the status quo, but turnout reflected pessimism that a new president could effect change: They must govern with the ultimate approval of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Here you can find out more about the initial candidates and here are four takeaways from the election.
A series of suicide attacks rock Nigeria
At least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of suicide bombings, all carried out by women and affecting events including a wedding and a funeral, on Saturday afternoon in Nigeria, local officials said.
The explosions resembled attacks carried out by Boko Haram, whose fighters have killed tens of thousands of people in Nigeria and whose aggression in the region has displaced more than two million people. Boko Haram insurgents have kidnapped thousands of teenage girls, forced them into marriage and forced them to carry out suicide attacks on schools, markets, religious buildings and large gatherings.
As of yesterday afternoon, no group had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
MORE FEATURED NEWS
During his years as president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte promised immunity to authorities for killing drug users and dealers. Police and vigilantes summarily executed tens of thousands of people.
In the two years since Duterte left office, there has been little legal response to the wave of killings. Now, many Filipinos hope that the International Criminal Court will take some action against Duterte.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
Japan’s first same-sex dating reality show
On July 9, Netflix debuts Japan’s first same-sex dating series, “The Boyfriend,” which follows nine men living in a luxurious beach house outside Tokyo. Japan lags behind other wealthy democracies on LGBTQ rights, and while public sentiment has moved toward supporting gay and transgender people, they are still sometimes subject to discrimination and hate speech.
Dai Ota, the show’s executive producer, said he wanted to “portray same-sex relationships as they really are,” as opposed to the exaggerated and stereotypical gay characters often portrayed on Japanese television.
The environment is mostly healthy and chaste. Sex is rarely mentioned, and friendship and self-improvement figure as prominently as romance. It remains to be seen whether the show will lead to broader acceptance of the LGBTQ community in Japan.