French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the country’s National Assembly and called a snap general election, following the release of exit polls predicting a disastrous performance by his Renaissance party in the EU parliament election.
Macron’s allies look certain to be roundly trounced by the right-wing National Rally (RN) party, which is associated with Marine Le Pen.
According to early projections on Sunday, National Rally, currently led by Jordan Bardella, took around a third of the vote; Macron’s alliance has polled at around 15%.
Explaining his decision, the president said he could not act as if “nothing happened,” admitting that the projected election result did not bode well for his government. Macron also warned about the apparent rise of nationalist forces, calling it a danger both to France and the EU as a whole.
“This is a serious, difficult decision, but above all it is an act of trust,” Macron stated, adding that he trusts “the French people to make the best choice for themselves and for future generations.”
“By according more than 30 percent of their votes to us, the French have delivered their verdict and marked the determination of our country to change the direction of the EU,” Bardella said in a victory speech from his campaign HQ, describing the projected result as “only the beginning.”
The former long-time leader of the National Rally party and incumbent head of its faction at the parliament, Marine Le Pen, welcomed Macron’s decision to call a snap election. She also expressed readiness to become France’s Prime Minister should the party emerge victorious in the upcoming national polls.
Raphael Glucksmann, the frontrunner for French socialist alliance, which is projected to come third in the EU polls, criticized Macron’s move.