“In a few moments I will sign the decree calling for the legislative elections whose first round will take place on June 30 and the runoff on July 7“Macron said in a televised message just an hour after the polling stations closed.
France advances legislative elections after setback in European elections
The French far-right candidate Jordan Bardella28 years old, obtained between 31.5% and 32.4% of the votes, followed far by the ruling party Valérie Hayer (15.2%) and the socialist Raphaël Glucksmann (14% to 14.3%). , according to estimates by the Ifop and Ipsos polling institutes.
“This afternoon a wind of hope blew in France and it has only just begun,” Bardella, who had demanded from the president the dissolution of the National Assembly (French lower house) and early elections, celebrated in front of his supporters.
“Emmanuel Macron is tonight a weakened president” by this “resounding defeat” and “he cannot remain deaf to the message” sent with these results, added the far-right candidate. “This unprecedented defeat marks the end of a cycle,” he said.
european parliament.avif
European Parliament in Brussels.
The result of the European elections “is not a good result for the parties that defend Europe”, “the rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation”, warned Macron, who decided to return the word to the “sovereign people”.
Bardella’s victory was a hard setback for Macron and his prime minister, Gabriel Attal, who were widely involved in the final stretch of the campaign with the aim of stopping the extreme right, which according to the French president could “block” the EU.
RN’s result, one of the best in its history, confirms the efforts of its leader, Marine Le Pen, to give a more moderate image to the formation that she inherited in 2018 from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, known for his comments racists and anti-semites.
And it could boost his chances for the 2027 presidential election. In 2022, Macron beat Marine Le Pen in the runoff of this election with 58.54% of the vote, almost eight points less than in 2017, when he beat his rival with 66.1% of votes.
But months after his re-election in 2022, the French president, who will no longer be able to run in 2027, lost his absolute majority in the legislative elections and RN became the first opposition party in the lower house.
