In the European Parliament elections on Sunday (June 9th), French exit polls showed that President Emmanuel Macron’s “Renaissance Party” was defeated by Marine Le Pen’s far-right political party. Macron later announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and scheduled new legislative elections later this month, a move that shocked the public.
The initial exit polls indicated that Le Pen’s “National Rally” secured 31.5% of the vote, an increase of around 10 percentage points compared to the 2019 European parliamentary elections, leading Macron’s “Renaissance Party” by over 16 percentage points. The “Renaissance Party” obtained a 15.2% vote share, placing second, while the French Socialist Party garnered 14% of the votes, ranking third.
Macron stated that this outcome was a disaster for his government and he could not pretend to ignore it. He announced that the first round of parliamentary elections would take place on June 30th, followed by a second round on July 7th. These elections are held just on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games.
“I have decided that through your vote, I will return the power of choice for the future of the parliament to you. Therefore, I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight,” Macron said.
The National Assembly is the lower house of the French parliament.
“This decision is serious, grave, but most importantly, it is an act of trust – trust in you, dear fellow citizens, trust in the French people’s ability to make the fairest decisions for themselves and future generations,” he added.
The “National Rally” welcomed this news. Le Pen told supporters, “I can only welcome this decision, as it aligns with the logic and structure of the Fifth Republic.”
For Macron, this is a high-stakes political gamble. If Le Pen’s “National Rally” party secures a majority in the new elections, Macron’s unexpected decision may leave him in a situation where he finds it nearly impossible to advance any agenda.
According to reports from France Info, Eric Ciotti, chairman of the right-wing Republicans party, stated that Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly after the results of the European elections on Sunday was the “only solution.” However, he refused to “unite” with the presidential camp.