There are no elections next week in the fourth arrondissement of the Alpes-Maritimes department, the area around the principality of Monaco. In the first round, Alexandra Masson of the Rassemblement National, the far-right party led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, won an absolute majority with 56.27 percent of the vote.

Masson had represented this constituency for three years. “Tonight we are reaping the benefits of what we have harvested in three years. This result fully meets our expectations,” she said after announcing the results. Masson will now support other candidates of her party who still have a second round in their campaigns.

The French MP also achieved remarkably high scores in the neighbouring municipalities of Monaco: Cap d’Ail (50.56 percent), Eze (52.84 percent), La Turbie (55.88 percent), Beausoleil (49,94 percent), Roquebrune-Cap Martin (55.16 percent).

In Menton, Masson even got 56.55 percent of the votes. The main opponent Anne-Pascale Guedon (of the pro-Macron party Ensemble!) got about 25 percent in the Monaco area but scored less well in the hinterland. The far-left Virginie Parent scored remarkably high in Menton (22.47 percent) and finished second in that city ahead of Guedon.

Featured image: Alexandra Masson