France's hung parliament means that even if a new government is formed, it will be fragile and constantly at risk of collapse, which will fuel lingering questions about Paris' ability to pass meaningful economic reforms and maintain the possibility of new elections after mid-2025. The New Popular Front (NPF) coalition of left-wing parties won 182 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly in the second round of France's legislative election on July 7. President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition Ensemble ended in the second position with 163 seats, followed by the far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies with 143 seats. While the RN came away with the most seats in the first round held on June 29, it was ultimately held back by tactical voting in the second round, as left-wing and centrist parties instructed their third-place candidates to drop out in order to consolidate votes against the far-right and allow...
