France's Left-wing Bloc Collaborates Against Far-right in Snap Elections

France's left-wing parties unite to contest snap parliamentary elections, challenging both the government and Marine Le Pen's far-right movement. Following a severe loss by Macron's party in recent European elections, the opposition aims to present a unified front to provide an alternative to President Macron and resist the far-right's racist agenda.

France's opposition left-wing parties late on Monday pledged to work together and nominate joint candidates in snap parliament elections later this month to challenge the government and Marine Le Pen's far-right movement. The country's socialists, greens, communists and the more radical France Unbowed party in a joint release made a call for a shared platform to "present an alternative to (President) Emmanuel Macron and fight against the racist project of the far right".

The parties said they would support a joint candidate in each electoral district from the first round of voting on June 30. The bloc had worked together during the previous parliamentary campaign in 2022 before a leadership struggle and policy differences - including on the Gaza war - led to cracks in their alliance.

Following a massive loss for his Renaissance party in Sunday's European Parliament election, Macron announced snap elections and dissolved the National Assembly. In a first opinion poll released on Monday, the far-right National Rally was forecast to score the most votes without securing an absolute majority.