(Paris) President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday the dissolution of the National Assembly and the calling of legislative elections, a political thunderclap and a risky bet after the historic victory of the far right in the European elections in France.
The legislative elections will take place on June 30 and July 7, announced the head of state, defending a “serious, heavy decision”. “But above all it is an act of trust,” he assured.
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
With 31.5 to 32% of the votes according to the Ipsos and Ifop institutes, the far-right National Rally party of Jordan Bardella struck a major blow in the European elections, achieving its best score in a national election (excluding the second round) and will contribute decisively to the rise in power of the nationalist and sovereignist camp in the European Parliament, the main lesson of the vote at the level of the Twenty-Seven.
The Macronist list of Valérie Hayer, an outgoing MEP unknown to the general public, is relegated very far behind with less than half of the votes, at around 15%, followed by the social democrat Raphaël Glucksmann, 44 years old, who is registered between 14 and 14.3%, more than double its 2019 result.
To justify these early elections, Emmanuel Macron argued 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.
In fact, the presidential camp, already in a relative majority in the national Parliament, could be forced to cohabit in the event of a victory for the RN a few days before the Paris Olympic Games.
Bitter failure
“We are ready to exercise power if the French trust us,” reacted far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who came twice behind Emmanuel Macron in the presidential elections of 2017 and 2022, and who is aiming for the 2027 deadline to enter the Élysée.
Head of the RN list in the European elections, Jordan Bardella, 28, welcomed this result “with humility, with gravity” in front of a crowd of galvanized supporters, after welcoming a “historic score” for his party.
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). And a hard blow for Emmanuel Macron, 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.
The victory of the far right in France was expected: Bardella, who focused her speech on the themes of immigration, security and purchasing power, pranced in the lead throughout the campaign, far ahead of Valérie Hayer .
PHOTO SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Emmanuel Macron’s candidate, Valérie Hayer
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.
“Republican field”
For the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, the Macron camp will “give the nomination” to outgoing deputies, including opposition ones, “part of the Republican field” and wishing to “invest in a clear project” around the presidential majority, Stéphane Séjourné, secretary general of the Renaissance party and minister of Foreign Affairs, told AFP on Sunday.
For his part, the new strong man of the left, Raphaël Glucksmann, underlined his 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.