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Announcement comes after exit polls showed his alliance losing to far-right National Rally (RN) in EU parliament vote.
Published On 9 Jun 2024
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.
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.
Le Pen’s strong showing, notching a 10-point increase on the last EU election in 2019, will weaken Macron’s hold on power three years before the end of his final term. It could also prompt high-level defections from his centrist camp as the succession battle to replace him heats up.
“Emmanuel Macron is a weakened president, already deprived of an absolute majority in the French parliament and now restricted in his means of action within the European Parliament,” Bardella said in a victory speech.
This is a developing story. More soon…
