With just days to go before the first round of voting in France's Parliamentary elections, there is a real danger that Rassemblement National could form the next French government. Victory for the far right would not simply lead to a worsening of the conservative policies that are already being pursued in France, writes Mediapart co-founder Edwy Plenel in this op-ed article. It would mark an historic break with the past, he argues, by handing the far right their revenge over opponents who support equality and the universality of human rights.

The hastily-formed New Popular Front (NFP), which combines the Left and the Greens, is having to work on plans  to broaden its electoral support beyond its own base in order to win the Parliamentary elections, the first round of which takes place on Sunday June 30th. Despite a toxic debate on anti-Semitism and the false equivalence opponents are making between the leftwing alliance and the far-right Rassemblement National, key figures in the NFP are working hard on a strategy they believe can bring them success in the election's decisive second round on July 7th. Part of this approach is to emphasise the wide-reaching benefits across society of their own manifesto pledges rather than just warning about the dangers posed by the far right. Mathieu Dejean reports.

On June 27th 2023 17-year-old Nahel was shot dead by a police officer on the streets of Nanterre in the western suburb of Paris, sparking days of protests and unrest in many areas. A year later Mediapart has returned to Nanterre's Pablo-Picasso housing estate where Nahel and his family lived. For many in this traditionally left-voting area the snap election just called by President Emmanuel Macron seems a distant issue compared with the problems of everyday life. Yet it is the residents of this estate whom Sabrina Sebaihi, the candidate for leftwing alliance the New Popular Front, is trying to convince to get out and vote over two rounds on June 30th and July 7th. Mathilde Goanec reports.

Having called a snap election, the French president quickly nailed his colours to the mast. The far-right Rassemblement National is preferable to the leftwing New Popular Front: that is the underlying message of Emmanuel Macron's slanderous attack - supported by his allies - against the union of the Left and the greens, an alliance that has been dubbed shameless and been accused of anti-Semitism. But in his criticism of this new front the French head of state is displaying both an ignorance of history and duplicity, writes Mediapart co-founder Edwy Plenel in this op-ed article.

In an interview published this week in France, former Olympics gold medallist Guy Drut, a member of the International Olympic Committee and as such a director of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics organising committee, argued in favour of voting for the far-right Rassemblement National party in the forthcoming legislative elections. His comments, including warning of a “fascist threat” from the Left, followed calls from numerous sports personalities for the public to mobilise against the far-right which is running high in opinion polls. Antton Rouget reports. 

Pro-Kremlin online networks led a disinformation campaign in support of the chairman of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party during the recent European Parliament elections. After the far-right garnered almost 32% of votes cast in France, President Emmanuel Macron called snap legislative elections, plunging the country into political chaos. But that recent disinformation campaign was just the latest that has targeted France, and there are fears that a major operation may now try to influence the outcome of the imminent legislative poll. Justine Brabant and Matthieu Suc report.

Far-right Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has been hosting a summit of leaders of the G7 countries, where the war in Ukraine and Gaza, and economic relations with China were high on the agenda. But despite the grins during the photocalls, Meloni is the only one with anything to laugh about, emerging triumphant from European elections which severely weakened French President Emmanuel Macron, who called snap general elections which could lead to the formation of a far-right government. The parties of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition allies were similarly battered. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces defeat in general elections in July, and US President Joe Biden faces a tough re-election bid. François Bougon reports.

Following the huge success of the French far-right Rassemblement National party (the former Front National) in the  polling on Sunday to elect members to the new assembly of the European Parliament, President Emmanuel Macron has called a surprise snap election of France’s national parliament, due in three weeks’ time. In this op-ed article, Mediapart political correspondent Ellen Salvi argues why Macron’s strategy, adopted since 2017, of presenting himself as the only alternative to the far-right has reached its limit, and now threatens a major disaster for the country.

Christophe Deloire, the secretary general of press freedom NGO Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders), has died at the age of 53, it was announced on Saturday. Mediapart salutes the importance of the battles he fought for the cause of a free, independent and pluralist press and, as Mediapart’s publishing editor Carine Fouteau writes here, we keep in mind our common combat over issues of major importance for the media.

A collective organisation representing associations dedicated to assisting people in situations of social exclusion this week published a report documenting the crackdown in Paris on the homeless and squatters ahead of the Olympic Games to be held in the capital this summer. It notes that a “social clean-up” began in earnest last year, and has led to the evictions and forced expulsions of more than 12,000 people. Faïza Zerouala reports.