French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday that he will dissolve the National Assembly and call early parliamentary elections after his party suffered a heavy defeat in the European Parliament elections.
In an address to the country from the Elysee Palace, Macron said: “I have to give you back the choice of our long-term parliamentary through voting. Therefore, I dissolve the National Assembly. ” Voting will be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said.
The move comes as the first effects expected on Sunday in France put Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party well ahead in the European Union’s parliamentary elections, beating out Macron’s pro-European centrists, according to French opinion pollsters. risk, as his party could suffer further losses, which would hinder the rest of his presidential term, which ends in 2027.
To add insult to injury, the National Rally’s leading candidate, Jordan Bardella, 28, struck a presidential tone in his victory speech in Paris, beginning with “My fellow citizens” and adding that “the French have given their verdict, and it is final.
Macron expressed the noise of defeat. ” I have listened to your message, your concerns, and I will leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling early elections only underlined his democratic credentials.
The four-day elections in the 27 EU countries are the second most important democratic exercise in the world, after the recent elections in India. In the end, the rise of the far right has been even more surprising than many analysts predicted. at just over 30 percent, about twice as much as Macron’s centrist pro-European Renew party, which is expected to succeed with around 15 percent.
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s well-established Social Democratic Party became the far-right Alternative for Germany, which came in second. Projections imply that the AfD has triumphed over a series of scandals involving its leading candidate with 16. 5%. compared to 11% in 2019. By comparison, the combined result of the three parties in the German government coalition was just over 30%.
The election comes at a time when voter confidence is being tested in a bloc of about 450 million people. Over the past five years, the EU has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic crisis and an energy crisis fueled by Europe’s largest country. But political campaigns focus on the problems of fear in each country rather than on broader European interests.