France’s Macron calls for snap elections after far right surge in EU vote
Al Jazeera
Announcement comes after exit polls showed his alliance losing to far-right National Rally (RN) in EU parliament vote.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will dissolve parliament and call new legislative elections after exit polls showed his alliance suffered a heavy defeat in European elections to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party.
The EU election result was “not good result for parties who defend Europe,” Macron said in his announcement on Sunday.
“Far right parties… are progressing everywhere in the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself,” he said.
“I decided to give you the choice… Therefore I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight. This decision is serious and heavy but it is an act of confidence,” Macron added.
Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, won around 32 percent of the vote, more than double the Macron ticket’s 15 percent, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists came within a whisker of Macron, with 14 percent.
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