Macron gambles on snap French election after Le Pen victory in EU vote

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France was shocked on Sunday as President Emmanuel Macron announced a sudden parliamentary election, following his centrist group's defeat by Marine Le Pen's far-right party in a European parliamentary contest.

Exit polls have revealed that the Rassemblement National (RN) has obtained 31.5% of the votes, while the centrist alliance of the French president only garnered 14.5%, dealing a harsh setback to Macron. He seemed to have barely dodged falling to a shameful third place, as the centre-left party obtained 14% of the votes.

To me, it is important that Europe remains together, capable and self-sufficient for the benefit of France. This is something I cannot accept and therefore, I am granting you the power to decide our parliamentary direction through a vote.

The initial stage of the parliamentary voting is going to occur in merely 21 days, specifically on the 30th of June. Subsequently, a supplementary round will take place on the 7th of July.

The French leader is taking a big risk by dissolving his alliance, especially since he's already lost his parliamentary majority despite being re-elected as president two years ago. This could result in his alliance being completely destroyed, and he would have to choose a prime minister from a different party. This could potentially be the centre-right Les Republicains or the far-right RN, in a situation known as a "cohabitation".

If that were to happen, Macron would have very limited control over matters that concern the country during the remaining three years of his presidency.

According to reports, French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his belief that a vote is essential for calming the heated discussions in the French parliament and gaining a clear understanding of the country's direction. Officials from the Elysée Palace have claimed that he has been contemplating this decision for quite some time as a means of tackling the stalemate in parliament.

François Bayrou, who belongs to the centrist political ideology and whose party works alongside Macron's party, expressed that the president's objective is to resolve the political deadlock by posing a straightforward question to the voters - whether the propositions of the far-right party truly align with the values France stands for.

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Le Pen was pleased with the win and praised Macron's actions in response. She stated in a speech, "This proves that when the citizens vote, they come out victorious. President Macron's decision to hold early elections deserves admiration... We are prepared to take on the responsibility of governing if the French express their support for us."

The RN holds the largest opposition party with 88 seats in the National Assembly from a total of 577. Macron's centrist alliance, with 249 seats, has had to negotiate with other parties to advance their goals.

France has experienced three instances of political cohabitations in the past. This involves the sharing of power between the president, a prime minister and a government coming from a different political party. The Fifth Republic was established in 1958.

Alain Duhamel, an experienced political commentator, foresaw that "A dissolution will result in a cohabitation."

Apart from RN's significant victory in the European elections held on Sunday, another right-wing party, Reconquête, has reportedly secured a vote share of 5.3% in the election results.

Le Pen's aim to replace Macron as president in 2027 could gain significant momentum with her large victory margin. Those who are close to the president have framed the decision to hold sudden elections as a risky move to prevent Le Pen from making progress.

According to Bruno Cautrès, a researcher and survey specialist at Sciences Po in Paris, Macron's loss is significant as he has held the presidency for a substantial period of seven years, during which he has expressed his ambition of fighting the extremist right-wing.

Macron faced defeat following his statement that the EU's future is endangered by Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine, economic rivalry with America and China, as well as the necessity of combating climate change. He revealed that these were topics where the far-right political party lacked competence.

However, the French voters remained unaffected by the message, as historically they have used European elections to express their dissent against the sitting president.

Cautrès said that it is problematic for Emmanuel Macron because he has tried to establish himself as the intellectual leader of Europe, yet the French voters do not support him.

According to voting projections, the list for the RN, which is headed by the dynamic 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella, received nearly the same number of votes as the combined total of Macron's team, led by a relatively unknown MEP named Valerie Hayer, and the established parties of both the center-left and center-right.

Bardella spoke from his campaign HQ and declared that the French people have given us their verdict by voting for us with over 30% of their votes. This proves that our country is committed to altering the course of the EU. Bardella concluded by saying that this is just the starting point.

According to the findings, the RN has been gaining more and more support since 2019. This was the year when they received 23.3% of the total votes in the previous European elections. They edged out Macron's list by a narrow margin, as they managed to secure 22.4% of the votes.

The blog section has been supplemented with further accounts by Adrienne Klasa.

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