French football team captain Kylian Mbappé reiterated his stance against the far right, which appears to be on track to win in the legislative elections, stating that it is "very urgent" to vote in the second round following the "catastrophic" results of the first round. He emphasized that "the French cannot leave their country in the hands of these people" in reference to the far right.
Three days before the second round of the French legislative elections, which saw an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right in the first round, uncertainty looms over the upcoming political landscape in a country that was one of the founders of the European Union and is threatened with instability, if not outright inability to govern.
Numerous withdrawals of candidates from the right, center-right, and left (over 200 candidates from the left and President Emmanuel Macron's camp) may temper the progress of the National Rally Party (far right), which finished first in the first round of voting. These painful concessions aim to block the far right's path and prevent it from gaining an absolute majority in the National Assembly and forming a government, achieving power for the first time in 80 years.
According to the latest polls, the likelihood of the National Rally Party obtaining the absolute majority of 289 seats now seems far-fetched. However, left-leaning voters across France are hesitating to block the far right once again in this election, sparked by Macron's shocking decision on June 9 to dissolve the National Assembly.
Like many athletes, especially those from immigrant backgrounds, Mbappé had previously stated before the first round that he was "against extremism and divisive ideas," describing it as "a critical moment in the history of our country, we are in an unprecedented situation."
The new star of Real Madrid reiterated his position on Thursday, on the eve of France's match against Portugal in the quarter-finals of the European Championship in Germany, stating from Hamburg: "I believe we need to go out and vote more than ever, we cannot leave our country in the hands of these people."
He added: "It is indeed very urgent. We have seen the results; they are catastrophic. I hope they change and that everyone will go out and vote for the right people."
The second round of voting is scheduled for Sunday, with the National Rally Party hoping to win a majority of the 577 seats in the National Assembly. If the National Rally realizes its goal, its leader Jordan Bardella, 28, is expected to become Prime Minister.
Although Mbappé did not name the National Rally during his press conference, he used humor to express his stance during a dialogue with a journalist. When the journalist tried to reveal his seating position by saying he was at the far left of the room, the player quipped, "Fortunately, you are not on the other side."