French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the lower house of parliament and announced fresh elections after his party’s poor performance in the EU elections. His party was defeated by the far-right National Rally.
French President Emanuel Macron announced Sunday he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap election after his centrist alliance was trounced by the far-right National Rally in the European Parliament elections.
According to the first exit polls, the National Rally won around 32%, more than double Macron’s pro-EU coalition, which received 15% of the vote.
The first round of France’s parliamentary election will be held on June 30 and a second round is scheduled for July 7.
Exit polls on Sunday have shown the far-right making substantial gains in other member states in the European Parliament election, including in Germany and Austria.
What did Macron say about the snap election?
“I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly,” Macron said in an address to the nation.
Macron said that the EU parliamentary election result was “not a good result for parties that defend Europe.”
“Far right parties … are progressing everywhere in the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself,” he said.
“This is an essential time for clarification … I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” France’s president said.
“The decision is serious and difficult, but it is above all an act of trust, trust in you, my dear compatriots,” he said, stressing that he cannot “pretend nothing has happened.”
He encouraged citizens to “vote massively” in the election, saying that “France needs a clear majority.”
