According to CoinDesk, the New Popular Front, a left-wing coalition, emerged as the biggest winners in France's recent election, securing 188 seats. However, this fell short of the 289 seats required for a majority. President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble won 161 seats, while Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally secured 141 seats. The lack of an outright majority could complicate the formation of new policies, including those related to cryptocurrency regulations.
The election results led to a hung parliament, which could make the implementation of any new policy, including crypto regulations, more challenging. Macron is now tasked with selecting a prime minister to replace the Renaissance party's Gabriel Attal, who announced his intention to resign on Monday.
Following the first round of voting last week, politicians from several parties, including Macron's Renaissance party, initiated strategic cooperation after right-wing parties secured the largest share of the vote. Third-placed candidates withdrew from the race to prevent the anti-National Rally vote from being divided.
Mark Foster, the EU policy lead at the Crypto Council for Innovation, suggested that the new parliament's larger far-left and far-right contingents could make domestic policy development, including crypto regulations, uncertain and difficult. This could also limit the president’s authority on international and European stages.
France has already made significant progress with crypto. Last year, it registered 74 crypto companies, a number expected to rise to 100. Regulators have been trying to attract more digital asset businesses. The European Union's wide-ranging crypto asset legislation, the Markets in Crypto Asset (MiCA) rules on stablecoins, began to be enforced at the end of June. The remaining crypto rules are expected to be implemented by the end of the year.