France’s Macron calls for snap elections after far right surge in EU vote

Announcement comes after exit polls showed his alliance losing to far-right National Rally (RN) in EU parliament vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will dissolve parliament and call new legislative elections after exit polls showed his alliance suffered a heavy defeat in European elections to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party.

Macron said the EU results on Sunday were grim for his government, and one he could not pretend to ignore. In an address to the nation, he said lower house elections would be called for June 30, with a second-round vote on July 7.

“This is an essential time for clarification,” Macron said. “I have heard your message, your concerns and I will not leave them unanswered … France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony.”

“Far right parties… are progressing everywhere in the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself,” he said.

Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, won around 32 percent of the EU vote, more than double the Macron ticket’s 15 percent, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists came within a whisker of Macron, with 14 percent.

Le Pen’s strong showing, notching a 10-point increase on the last EU election in 2019, will weaken Macron’s hold on power three years before the end of his final term. It could also prompt high-level defections from his centrist camp as the succession battle to replace him heats up.

“We are ready to take over power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections,” Le Penn said at a rally shortly after Macron’s shock announcement.

Le Pen and Bardella sought to frame the EU election as a mid-term referendum on Macron’s mandate, tapping into discontent with immigration, crime and a two-year inflation crisis.

The election results mark a critical moment as Macron cannot stand again as president and RN figurehead Le Pen fancies she has her best-ever chance of winning the Elysee Palace.