President Emmanuel Macron has announced snap parliamentary elections later this month following a significant victory by his rival Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the European Parliament vote.
Exit polls indicate the far-right party is poised to win 32% of the vote, more than double that of Macron’s Renaissance party.
In a televised address from the Élysée Palace, Macron declared the dissolution of parliament and stated that the two rounds of voting would take place on June 30 and July 7, just weeks before the Paris Olympics.
This dramatic and unexpected announcement came an hour after voting closed and exit polls were released in France’s EU elections.
Macron’s decision followed closely on the heels of a public call by National Rally’s 28-year-old leader, Jordan Bardella, urging the president to call parliamentary elections.
“I have heard your message,” the president told French voters, “and I will not let it go without a response.”
“France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony,” he said, adding that he could not resign himself to the far-right’s progress “everywhere in the continent.”
Barely two years into his second term, President Emmanuel Macron already lacks a majority in the French parliament.
Although the European vote theoretically does not impact national politics, Macron has evidently concluded that continuing his mandate without fresh public consultation would overly strain the political system.
The forthcoming parliamentary elections will not affect Macron’s position as president, as they are separate from the presidential elections, and his term still has three more years to run.
Ms Le Pen, who has twice been defeated by Mr Macron in presidential elections, immediately reacted, saying her party was “ready to exercise power, ready to put an end to mass immigration”.
He could have continued, dismissing the far right’s significant victory as a European anomaly that would be corrected in more crucial elections. He could have relied on the upcoming European football championship in Germany and, most importantly, the Paris Olympics to distract people from politics for a few months.
This was certainly the expectation of the Paris commentariat, who thought he would downplay his party’s defeat. However, it seems the president anticipated this outcome and had already planned his response.
Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella were celebrating their victory even before Macron’s announcement.
Given that the results were almost exactly as predicted by the polls, Macron had ample time to consider his options. The reality is that he is in a difficult position.
Without a majority, passing any bill through the National Assembly is already challenging. With much of the country now clearly against him, any new legislation—such as the upcoming budget—could prove to be highly contentious.
So he has plumped for “clarity”. If National Rally has the votes, then, he says, they should be given the chance to govern.
Obviously, the president will hope his own Renaissance party can mount a fightback at the elections on June 30 and July 7, or that other parties will do better too.
But he must appreciate that the odds favour another victory for National Rally. Maybe not one as sweeping as Sunday’s result, but enough for it to become the biggest party in parliament.
At which point we might well have Prime Minister Marine Le Pen, or indeed Jordan Bardella.
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