(Paris) President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday the dissolution of Parliament, drawing lessons from the large victory of the far right in the European elections in France.
“I will sign in a few moments the decree convening the legislative elections which will be held on June 30 for the first round and July 7 for the second,” declared the Head of State, noting that nearly 40% of the votes were in favor of far-right parties, including 31.5% for the National Rally led by Jordan Bardella, 28 years old.
PHOTO JULIEN DE ROSA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The head of the National Rally (RN) Marine Le Pen (L) and the president of the party Jordan Bardella
“This decision is serious, heavy, but above all it is an act of trust,” he stressed, saying his “confidence […] in the ability of the French people to make the most just choice for themselves and for future generations.”
“Let the sovereign people have their say,” he said. “Nothing is more republican”.
He added that France “needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony” and stressed having “heard” the message of the French and their concerns.” “I will not leave them without an answer,” he assured.
“We are ready to exercise power if the French trust us,” reacted immediately the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who came twice behind President Macron in the presidential elections of 2017 and 2022, and who aims to deadline of 2027.
The far right won the European elections in France on Sunday, far ahead of the list of President Emmanuel Macron’s camp, which came second but closely followed by the social democrats.
Jordan Bardella welcomed this result “with humility, with gravity” in front of a crowd of galvanized supporters, after welcoming a “historic score” for his party.
With 15.2% of the votes, the presidential camp collected more than half as much as the National Rally (31.5% to 32.4%), according to estimates published Sunday evening by the Ipsos and Ifop institutes.
Bitter failure
It is a bitter failure for the Macronist majority which, in 2019, was only one point behind the National Rally (23.34% for the RN against 22.42% for the majority).
PHOTO SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Emmanuel Macron’s candidate, Valérie Hayer
Macronist candidate Valérie Hayer saves second place but only by a narrow margin, the social democratic list led by Raphaël Glucksmann, 44, having won 14% of the vote, according to these estimates.
The victory of the far right was expected: the young Bardella, who focused his speech on the themes of immigration, security and purchasing power, pranced in the lead throughout the campaign, far ahead of Valérie Hayer , 38 years old.
With his carefully crafted formulas and his media ease, he was able to establish himself in less than five years in a French political landscape in full renewal, and continued the strategy of demonizing the French far-right party, begun a year ago. decade by Marine Le Pen.
Unknown to the general public, the head of the Renaissance list, the outgoing MEP Valérie Hayer, struggled during the campaign despite her solid knowledge of European issues.
Coming third, the pro-European socialist Raphaël Glucksmann continued to present his party as a possible alternative to the “deadly duel” between the far right and the Macronist party.
“Historical score”
For French President Emmanuel Macron, it is a scathing defeat, he who came to power in 2017 with the desire to strengthen French influence within the European Union, and with the promise of eradicating extremes on the national scene.
Associated with the increasingly unpopular president, Valérie Hayer never managed to take off despite direct interventions in the campaign not only from Prime Minister Gabriel Attal but also from the president, to the point of irritating the oppositions who denounced a mixture genres.
The new strong man of the left, Raphaël Glucksmann, whose party more than doubled its score compared to 2019, underlined the responsibility “now immense in Europe and in France”.
“What we are going to bring about is a new political space in France and in Europe based on a visceral attachment to democracy, freedom, ecology and solidarity. And it is this political space which will prevent the extreme right from taking power,” he said.
As for the Greens, who obtained a historic score of 13.4% in 2019, collapsed while remaining slightly above 5%, the minimum threshold for obtaining MEPs in France.
The European elections in France will also have been marked by a relative surge of the radical left represented by La France insoumise (LFI) and Manon Aubry: 8.7% compared to 6.3% of the votes in 2019.