As it was widely expected, unpopular French President Emmanuel Macron got crushed in the polls by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) in the European Parliament vote.
The RN party is expected to get around 32% of the vote, more than twice that of the president’s Renaissance party.
But what was NOT expected is that following the major defeat, Macron would pull a BIG gamble by calling snap parliamentary elections.
He announced the dissolution of parliament and said the two rounds of voting would take place on 30 June and 7 July, mere days before the Paris Olympics.
BBC reported:
“Mr. Macron made the dramatic and surprise decision in a televised address from the Élysée Palace an hour after voting closed and exit polls had been declared in France’s EU elections.
His decision came not long after National Rally’s 28-year-old leader, Jordan Bardella, had openly called on the president to call parliamentary elections.
‘I have heard your message’, the president told French voters, ‘and I will not let it go without a response. France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony’, he said, adding that he could not resign himself to the far-right’s progress “everywhere in the continent”.
While he still has years in his train-crash second term, which was filled with a general lack of success, Macron has no majority in the parliament.
While the European vote does not affect national politics, it seems as if Macron has decided that to keep on working through his mandate without a new popular consultation would be a wrong choice.
The snap parliamentary elections are separate from the presidential elections that will be held in 2027.
“Ms. Le Pen, who has twice been defeated by Mr. Macron in presidential elections, immediately reacted, saying her party was ‘ready to exercise power, ready to put an end to mass immigration.’”
Macron’s decision to call a snap election is a big surprise for the country and carries considerable risk for Macron.
Analysts suggest he had seen this coming and planned his response in advance.
“Without a majority, getting any bill through the National Assembly is already a struggle. With most of the country now so clearly against him, any new legislation – for example the upcoming budget – could have proved explosive.”
So Macron’s gamble is one in search of clarity: if RN has the votes, they should be given the chance to govern.
Will we soon see Prime Minister Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella?
The Guardian reported:
“The president said the decision was a ‘serious and heavy’ one, but that he could not resign himself to the fact that ‘far-right parties are progressing everywhere on the continent’.
He described it as ‘an act of confidence’, saying he had faith in France’s voters and ‘in the capacity of the French people to make the best choice for themselves and for future generations’.
Macron added: ‘I have confidence in our democracy, in letting the sovereign people have their say. I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered’.”
Maybe he thinks two and a half years in government until the next Presidential election may be enough to render right-wingers unpopular too.
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