French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with members of the AI sector at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 21, 2024.
Ioann Valat | AFP | Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he would dissolve the country’s parliament and call for a national vote for a new legislature following a crushing defeat in the European elections.
The shock announcement Exit polls According to projections released by state broadcaster France TV, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party is expected to win around 31.5% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party is expected to get 14.5%.
“At the end of today, we will not be able to act as if nothing had happened,” Macron said in a televised address, according to a translation by CNBC.
President Macron said the first round of parliamentary elections would take place on June 30, with the second round on July 7.
Le Pen welcomed the news after calling for elections with Macron, saying at the X: “We are ready for elections.”
Calling parliamentary elections is a risky move for Macron. If Le Pen’s Liberal Party wins a majority in parliament, he could lose control of France’s domestic affairs. Macron’s term runs out in 2027 and he cannot run for a third term.
“Macron may be hoping to revive his party’s fortunes by unexpectedly intensifying events in new parliamentary elections,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said in a note Sunday night. “But unless there is a major shift in sentiment, the party is likely to suffer a major defeat in the parliamentary elections.”
He added that for a “financially challenged France,” new elections could increase uncertainty and cause some concern in markets.
Bardella in the spotlight
The RN’s European leader is Jordan Bardella, 28, whose mission is to make the far-right acceptable to young people in France and beyond. The Ipsos poll was published in May.32% of respondents said they would be satisfied if Bardera became president in 2027 (beating Le Pen, who came in second with 31%).
The nationalist and populist party’s election pledges included “restoring” order to France, closing “extremist” mosques and halting the so-called “immigration sinking”. It also promised to cut VAT on energy bills, invest in nuclear energy and lower the retirement age to 60 for “early workers”.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the French nationalist and right-wing populist party Rally National (RN), has arrived for his final rally before the upcoming European Parliament elections.
Noor Photo | Noor Photo | Getty Images
Leaving the EU, EUR Those policies were abandoned some time ago as Le Pen sought to appeal to a broader base of voters.
“But whether today’s French election results, and a victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections, pave the way for Le Pen to eventually become president is another matter entirely,” Berenberg’s Schmieding said.
“It would be easy for her to blame the president for his unpopular second term, but that’s not the same as winning the presidential election (due in 2027) against a new candidate. A lot will depend on whether France’s centrist parties can put up a compelling candidate to run against her.”
The final and biggest voting day of the European Parliament elections ended on Sunday, with early data showing that populist far-right parties received their highest support ever.
The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) is expected to win the most seats again, with a slight increase from last time, while the far-right Identity and Democracy group, of which RN is a member, made big gains.
—CNBC’s Charlotte Reid contributed to this report.
