As French citizens get set to vote in runoff parliamentary elections on Sunday hundreds of contenders have bowed out in an effort to block the far-right party from the gates of power. Over 200 candidates from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp and the left-wing alliance have stepped down in a bid to avoid splitting the vote. They’ve put aside their differences with one goal in mind: to keep the far right firmly away from the 289 seats required for an absolute majority currently within their reach. Last Sunday the French people placed the anti-immigration National Rally (RN) and its allies in first place while Macron’s centrist camp came third, behind the left-wing bloc. After the first round in constituencies where no candidate won outright, an unprecedented number of seats – over 300 – went to a three-way run-off favoring the RN. By Tuesday, as the deadline to drop out closed,…
