Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Monday 12 June 2017
Macron’s takeover of French politics is all but complete

cron’s rivals fretted that the hort of legislators, all of counted, Macron’s camp
39-year-old president will them having pledged al- was comfortably leading
be able to govern France legiance to his program, with more than 32 percent
almost unopposed for his to work immediately. He — putting it well ahead of
full five-year term. wants, within weeks, to all opponents going into
Record-low turnout, how- start reforming French labor the decisive second round
ever, took some shine off laws to make hiring and fir- of voting next Sunday for
the achievement. Less ing easier, and legislate a the 577 seats in the lower-
than 50 percent of the 47.5 greater degree of honesty house National Assembly.
million electors cast ballots into parliament, to staunch Macron’s prime minister,
— showing that Macron the steady flow of scandals Edouard Philippe, confi-
has limited appeal to many that over decades have dently declared Sunday
voters. eroded voter trust in the night that the second
Macron intends to set his political class. round vote would give the
large and likely pliant co- With 94 percent of votes assembly a “new face.”q

French President Emmanuel
Macron and his wife Brigitte
Macron pick up ballots be-
fore voting in the first round
of the two-stage legislative
elections in Le Touquet, north-
ern France, Sunday, June
11, 2017. French voters are
choosing legislators in the
first round of parliamentary
elections, with President Em-
manuel Macron’s party “Re-
public on the Move” hoping
to win a strong majority in the
National Assembly to push
through bold labor and secu-
rity reforms.
(Christophe Petit-Tesson/AP)
By SYLVIE CORBET
JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — Emmanu-
el Macron’s takeover of
French politics is all but
complete. The newly elect-
ed French leader’s gam-
ble that voters wanted to
throw out old faces and try
something new is paying
off in full — first by giving
him the presidency and,
on Sunday, the crucial first
step toward securing the
legislative power to deliver
on his pledge of far-reach-
ing change.
As when voters turned the
previously unelected Ma-
cron into France’s young-
est president last month,
Sunday’s first round of vot-
ing in two-stage legislative
elections again brought
stinging black eyes to tra-
ditional parties that, hav-
ing monopolized power for
decades, are being utterly
routed by Macron’s politi-
cal revolution.
His fledgling Republic on
the Move! — contesting its
first-ever election and field-
ing many candidates with
no political experience at
all — was on course to de-
liver him a legislative ma-
jority so crushing that Ma-