- 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
- 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, a plea in favour of world order?
- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
- How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic
- Panama's water wheel trash collector keeps plastic at bay
- It's still 'the economy, stupid,' says US political guru Carville
- Five key dates in the history of the America's Cup
- Zelensky to meet Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
Candidates exit French runoff to block far right
More than 200 centrist and left-wing candidates pulled out of France's legislative election runoff ahead of a Tuesday deadline, in a move President Emmanuel Macron hopes will block the far right from winning power.
France votes Sunday in the final round of snap legislative polls Macron called seeking a "clarification" in politics after his camp was trounced in European elections last month.
His gamble backfired, with the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen winning the June 30 first round. But the key suspense now is whether the RN can get enough seats to form a government.
Faced with the prospect of the far right taking power for the first time since France's occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II, Macron's camp and the left have urged a broad "Republican Front" to stop Le Pen's anti-immigration and eurosceptic party.
With the clock ticking to a deadline later Tuesday to register, over 200 pro-Macron or left-wing candidates had pulled out of contests to prevent the RN winning seats.
Le Pen appeared to row back on previous comments that the RN would only form a government with an absolute majority of 289 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, saying it would still try if slightly below this figure.
She said her party would seek to form a government and make her 28-year-old protege Jordan Bardella prime minister from a minimum of "for example, 270 deputies" and then find support from 19 more MPs.
"If we then have a majority, then yes, of course, we'll go and do what the voters elected us to do", she told broadcaster France Inter.
If Bardella becomes prime minister, this would create a tense period of "cohabitation" with Macron, who has vowed to serve out his term until 2027.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, 35, said late Monday it "would be catastrophic for the French" to give the far right an absolute majority.
- 'You don't have the right!' -
On Tuesday Attal came under pressure from a 22-year-old voter during a campaign stop in Paris who accused the centrist camp of not doing enough to prevent the ascent of Le Pen's party.
"You don't have the right to leave the world to the far-right," the man told Attal in a tense exchange, adding people of his generation "are just starting out in life."
Just 76 lawmakers, almost all from the far right and left were elected outright in the first round of voting at the weekend.
The fate of the remaining 501 seats will be determined in the second round in run-offs between two or three remaining candidates.
Of the candidates who have decided to quit the race more than 120 are members of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which came second in the first round, and more than 70 represent Macron's camp.
A RN candidate on Tuesday also dropped out of the race over a social media post showing her in a cap from the Luftwaffe air force of Nazi Germany, a party official said.
But there has been discord within the presidential camp over backing those NFP candidates who hark from the France Unbowed (LFI) hard-left party.
Several heavyweights in the Macron camp, including Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and former prime minister Edouard Philippe, have argued they should not help candidates from the LFI which is accused by its critics of extremism and failing to back Israel after the October 7 attack by Hamas.
- 'Administrative coup' -
As tensions rose five days ahead of the ballot, Le Pen accused Macron of rushing to appoint officials to key jobs in the police and other institutions before any cohabitation in what she described as "a form of administrative coup d'etat"
Macton's office urged her to show "restraint", saying appointments have been part of an established routine.
Most projections in the immediate aftermath of the first round showed the RN falling short of an absolute majority.
Analysts say the most likely outcome is a hung parliament that could lead to months of political paralysis, at a time when France is hosting the Olympics.
The chaos also risks damaging the international credibility of Macron, a champion of Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion who is set to attend a NATO summit in Washington immediately after the vote.
burs-as/sjw/ach
Y.Nakamura--AMWN