French parliament elects woman as its speaker, for 1st time

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER and MASHA MACPHERSON
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — France’s lower house of parliament has elected Yaël Braun-Pivet of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance as its new speaker. She is the first woman to hold the post. The National Assembly opened its first session Tuesday since legislative elections this month shook up France’s political landscape and deprived Macron’s party of its majority. Macron’s alliance still has the most seats but no longer enough to comfortably adopt laws. The leftist Nupes coalition is the biggest opposition force and hopes to challenge Macron’s plans to cut taxes and raise the retirement age. The far-right party of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen won a record number of seats, and is expected to press for anti-immigration policies.