The election victory "obliges" the government, said prime minister Edouard Philippe (second from left). (Photo: elysee.fr)

France gives Macron big majority with little enthusiasm

EU Political

by Eric Maurice, Paris,

French president Emmanuel Macron won a three-fifth majority in the lower house in the second round of the legislative elections on Sunday (18 June), but less than half of voters cast a ballot.

Macron's political movement, La Republique en Marche (LRM, The Republic on the Move) won 308 seats in the National Assembly, out of 577, after obtaining 43.06 percent of the vote. Its centrist ally, the Modem party, got 40 seats (6 percent).

While not as big as