The first round of the French general election can only be described as a success for the left camp if one considers the number of constituencies in which its candidates are allowed to stand in the second ballot.
Overall, the alliance, led by left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, achieved roughly the same result as five years ago.
And included in that 25.66 percent is the Socialists, a former presidential party now a mere shadow of itself.
The lesser evil
The fact that Macron still has to fear for an absolute majority in the National Assembly next Sunday shows once again that for many French people he was only the lesser political evil in the presidential election two months ago.
The overall picture emerging from the parliamentary elections is not unfamiliar: If you include the Republican alliance, then the middle-class party is still the strongest, but it is being pressured by positions on the extreme left and right.
Mélenchon questions the EU no less than Le Pen.
This development is known from other European and Western societies.
The changes associated with globalization and growing multipolarity will continue to feed these forces for a long time to come.
Even without majorities, they are changing politics, and not only in France.