Le Pen said that their voters did not turn out and asked them to respond urgently. She described the poor turnout as a civic disaster that deformed the electoral reality of the country and said that it produced a misleading vision of the current political forces.

Although Le Pen is no longer the head of the party as she quit to run for the presidential elections in France, next year, she has remained as a dominating force who has been trying to remold the party beginning with a name change from National Front to National Rally.

She had hoped for a huge victory on Sunday to propel her forward as she prepared for the race to enter the Elysée, the official residence of the French President.

In France, if a party wins over 50 percent in the first round, it is considered to be the winner. If not, a runoff will be held on June 27. Only parties that have 10 percent of the votes polled can advance to the important second vote.

Some analysts say that regional elections’ results are driven by local issues. These issues along with a low turnout is not seen as an indicator of the larger political picture in France.

Most political analysts believe that it will once again be a fight between  Macron and Marine Le Pen, but Macron will have an edge.

Macron has maintained an edge in French politics with his centrist policies. He appeals to voters who belong to both the moderate left and moderate right. Despite a fall in popularity due to the pandemic, he is still polling good figures, better than his predecessors. He still remains much more popular than his far-right colleague and he has no competition as of now from any other or a new emerging leader.

The pandemic has taken a toll on France with deaths, hospitalizations, lockdowns and a battered and bruised economy. The president is looking forward towards his reelection, of which he has dropped a few hints to the media, by trying to bring in policies that favor both the right and the left. He needs the moderate base support, once again, from both these voting banks.

Some of his recent policies address the following issues:

Strong security throughout the country
Curbs to prevent terrorist activities
Increase in police staff
Increasing the number of legal enforcers
Narrowing the inequality gap
Improving economic mobility
Laying down social justice reforms

All of Macron’s recent policies are aimed to balance the requirements of both the left and the right as past history shows that the current French President needs support from both to win the presidential elections for the second time.