- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
- Pogacar hunting 'perfect' season finale with Coppi's Il Lombardia record
- 'Soul of old Baghdad': city centre sees timid revival
- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Yankees advance in MLB playoffs as Guardians stay alive
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
A free hand for France's Macron? Looming parliament vote is key
Fresh from winning a second term as French president, Emmanuel Macron soon faces another fight that will determine whether he can pursue his reformist agenda -- parliamentary elections in which his rivals are looking to deny him a majority.
All 577 deputy seats in the lower-house National Assembly are up for grabs in the votes on June 12 and 19, and Macron's Republic on the Move (LREM) party, with 267 MPs currently, is likely to encounter stiff resistance, analysts say.
"The parliament elections are going to be the true election, because getting a majority will be essential," said Dominique Reynie, a political analyst at the Fondapol institute.
Yet two polls released just after Macron's victory over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Sunday found that two-thirds of French people do not want to hand the president a parliament majority for the next five years.
Le Pen, who scored her National Rally's highest election result ever at nearly 42 percent, immediately called on her millions of supporters "to launch the great battle for the legislative elections."
"We already have 450 candidates lined up," David Rachline, the National Rally mayor of Frejus in southern France, said at Le Pen's post-election party -- currently the party has just eight MPs.
Hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon issued a similar plea Sunday by urging an alliance with Communists, Greens and the eviscerated Socialist party to form a parliament majority that would force Macron to name him prime minister.
While such a "cohabitation" appears improbable -- there are only several dozen left-wing MPs of all stripes -- a large bloc of deputies on the left and far right could find common cause in joining to stymie Macron's parliamentary ambitions.
"Don't give up. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly into action, democracy can give us the means to change this direction... the third round begins tonight!" Melenchon said Sunday.
Christophe Castaner, Macron's party chief in parliament, accused Melenchon of playing "a dangerous game, but I'm convinced the French will want Emmanuel Macron to have the means to carry out what he was elected to do," he told France 2 television on Monday.
- 'Hard to imagine' -
Yet hostility to Macron has been a key factor in propelling the rise of the extreme right and left, and accounted for historically low turnout in the presidential run-off, when over a third of the electorate either stayed home or cast blank and ineligible ballots.
His pledge to push back the retirement age to 65 -- a reform derailed by widespread strikes two years ago -- has only confirmed his reputation as "president of the rich" among critics.
"Is the LREM going to secure a majority? I find this very hard to imagine," Reynie said.
"The parliamentary vote is going to be difficult, we're not going to see any lift" from Macron's victory, a top official in his party admitted to AFP, asking for anonymity.
Currently, the rightwing Republicans, with 101 deputies, are the biggest opposition bloc, but the collapse of their presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse puts them in a precarious position.
While several are tempted to throw in their lot with Macron, who has called for a "grand political movement of unity and action," others insist that staying independent is the only way to remain a viable force in a post-Macron era.
Term limits will prevent him from running again in 2027, and Republicans are hoping for a chance to revive their fortunes if Macron's party withers without him.
Press reports say he has already struck a deal with former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who infuriated many Republicans by backing Macron in the race, to try to ensure a working majority in parliament.
In effect, the LREM would refrain from fielding candidates so that several dozen Republican MPs keep their seats, in exchange for their support in passing laws.
Since public funding of parties depends on the number of deputies, that deal could provide a lifeline for Republicans after their presidential debacle, when the 4.8 percent score was too low to qualify for having their millions of euros of campaign spending reimbursed.
P.Silva--AMWN