French election first-round results show gains for far-right, drawing warnings ahead of decisive second-round

Paris — A far-right, anti-immigration party is in reach of becoming the biggest political force in France after the first of two rounds of voting in parliamentary elections drew a historically high turnout. The first-round results in the French election are the latest evidence of surging support for the far-right in Europe, but the real test of that trend nationally will come when France opens the polls for the second, decisive round of voting in one week.

French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble by calling the snap election this year, and he's now issued a battle cry urging the nation's voters to come out in force on July 7 to stop the far-right, which made its best showing ever in round one, from rising to the very top of government in round two.

Turnout was unusually high as many voters said they either wanted to block the far-right, or just get rid of Macron's government.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her National Rally party had "virtually wiped out" Macron's centrist power base in the first-round Sunday vote. National Rally took a third of the votes in that round.

Macron called these elections hoping to rally voters against the far-right, after parties like Le Pen's fared well in Europe-wide elections for the European parliament, which governs the European Union, in the spring.

"President Macron made a colossal error in judgment," political analyst Douglas Webber told CBS News. Webber said the first round results show Macron could be forced to share power with National Rally — a party that is anti-immigration, wants to roll back the power of the European Union, and has even threatened to pull France out of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.

If the National Rally wins enough votes in the second round, party president Jordan Bardella could find himself in the country's second-top job, as prime minister. He wants to pull back on France's support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's ongoing invasion.

"That would be a very good result for Vladimir Putin, a very bad result for Ukraine and President Zelenskyy," said Webber.

That outcome is not a foregone conclusion. The French have a history of voting more ideologically in the first round — "with their hearts," as the saying goes — but then more tactically, "with their heads," in the second round.

Macron and the thousands of left-wing supporters who gathered in central Paris on Sunday to voice their concern at the far-right's performance will be hoping that's the case, and that the actual gains in parliamentary seats won't mirror the windfall seen for Le Pen and Bardella's party in round-one.

"Right now, we have big problems with the right wing," said one young woman before the results came in. "We want more democracy, you know, we don't want people to feel afraid or scared about living in France."

But the political winds across much of the continent have been blowing decidedly to the right for more than a year. Should the far-right parties win big in France on July 7, Webber warned it could leave a power "vacuum at the heart of Europe," which has been dominated for years by the influence of its two biggest economies, France and Germany.

"No one, or no other group of countries, could conceivably fill the role that's historically been played by France and Germany," he said. "That's, of course, the main reason why so many people, observers, are extremely worried."

Among the worried Europeans voicing their angst on Monday was Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said the first-round results in France indicated a "very dangerous" political turn.

"This is all really starting to smell very dangerous," said Tusk, who suggested without offering specific evidence that "Russian influence" was behind the rise of "many parties of the radical right in Europe."

"Even the complete victory of the radical right of Ms. Le Pen's camp does not signal the loss of power by the center represented by President Macron," Tusk told reporters. "But it is a very clear sign of what is happening not only in France, but also in some other countries, also in Western Europe."

Tusk said France "will be forced to confront these radical forces," and he warned that, "foreign forces and enemies of Europe are engaged in this process, hiding behind these movements."

Macron has called on voters from across the political spectrum to block the far-right's precipitous rise with their votes in the final round on Sunday.

In:
• Election
• Emmanuel Macron
• France
• European Union

Elaine Cobbe

Elaine Cobbe is a CBS News correspondent based in Paris. A veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering international events, Cobbe reports for CBS News' television, radio and digital platforms.