France is braced for its “most consequential” election in decades after the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, stunned politicians and the public by announcing snap legislative elections following a drubbing at the hands of the far-right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliamentary elections, reports The Guardian.
The RN won about 32% of the vote on Sunday, more than double the 15% or so scored by Macron’s allies, according to exit polls. The Socialists on 14% came within a whisker of the Macron group.
Macron’s Renaissance party currently has 169 deputies in the national assembly and the RN 88.
The unexpected decision, which amounts to a roll of the dice on Macron’s political future, could hand major political power to the far right after years on the sidelines and neuter his presidency three years before it ends. If the far-right party wins an outright majority, the president would in effect lose control over most French domestic policy.
“This will be the most consequential parliamentary election for France and for the French in the history of the Fifth Republic,” the finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, told RTL radio. “We must fight for France and for the French. We have three weeks to campaign and convince the French.”
The legislative vote will take place on 30 June – less than a month before the start of the Paris Olympics – with a second round on 7 July. The results are likely to depend on how committed leftwing and centre-right voters are to keeping the far right away from power.
Analysts have said an outright far-right majority is unlikely – partly because voters often use European elections as a low-cost way of delivering a kick to the incumbent government, and things may well turn out differently in a parliamentary election.
Macron’s gamble is being seen as an attempt to make the best of his weak position by reclaiming the initiative and forcing the RN into election mode faster than it would have liked.