Marine Le Pen's National Rally leads in first round of French elections; new parliamentary composition may affect crypto policymaking

The far-right National Rally Party (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, is leading in the first round of the general election held last Sunday, according to data from the French Interior Ministry. The party received about 19% of the registered votes, according to provisional data. The opposition left-wing coalition came in second with 18.19%, followed by Ensemble, which includes President Macron's Renaissance Party, with 13.02%. The RN's victory in the European Parliament elections prompted Macron to call the election at short notice. Regardless of who wins, Macron has said he does not intend to resign. However, if his party fails to win a majority of 289 seats, it could make legislation more difficult. “It’s hard to say what will happen next week, but it’s clear that Macron’s gamble appears to have backfired at this stage,” Mark Foster, head of EU policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, said in a statement. “He had hoped that the RN would not do as well in the legislative elections as it did in Europe, but they actually gained more support. It looks like the new parliament will have greater far-left and far-right forces, making domestic policymaking (including crypto/digital assets) uncertain and difficult, while limiting the president’s authority on the international and European stage.” (CoinDesk)