Macron dissolves National Assembly in France after far-right victory

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, following the resounding victory of the country’s far right in the European elections, this Sunday (9). The National Rally list, led by party leader and president Jordan Bardella, obtained around 31.4% of the votes, while Macron’s party obtained 14.6%.

This Sunday, around 49.5 million French people went to the polls to choose 81 MEPs who will represent the country in the European Union parliament for the next five years. France is part of the group of powers on the continent that have seen the extreme right advance with great vigor.

“These are times for clarification,” said Macron, in a speech broadcast from the Elysee Palace. The Frenchman classified the far right as “nationalists and demagogues” and warned of the dangers arising from their rise, not just “for our nation, but for the whole of Europe.”

“Today, the challenges ahead, whether external dangers, climate change and its consequences, or the threat to our own cohesion, these challenges demand clarity in our debate,” he said.

🇫🇷 SUBTITLED SPEECH: Macron dissolves French Parliament after defeat to the far right in the European Elections.

He stated that the decision was difficult, but necessary to respond to the “rise of nationalists and demagogues”, which he considers a danger to both… pic.twitter.com/FeAAMezG71

— Eixo Político (@eixopolitico) June 9, 2024

“The far right is at the same time the impoverishment of the French and the dismantling of our country. So, at the end of the day, I couldn’t pretend that nothing happened,” declared Macron.

“That is why, after carrying out the consultations provided for in article 12 of our Constitution, I decided to give you back the choice of our future parliamentarian through voting. Therefore, I dissolve the National Assembly tonight. I will shortly sign the decree calling for legislative elections, the 1st round of which will be held on June 30th and the 2nd round on July 7th”, announced the president.

Macron’s decision generated a series of political reactions within France. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said the far-right was ready to take power, while left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called for a broad front against neo-fascists.

“We are ready to exercise power if the French trust us in the next legislative elections”, assured Marine Le Pen, whose party would launch Jordan Bardella as a candidate for prime minister.

Bardella, 28 years old, obtained an elastic victory over the government candidate Valérie Hayer, who received 14.6% of the votes this Sunday. The RN’s result, one of the best in its history, also confirms Le Pen’s efforts to bring to power the former National Front, which he inherited in 2018 from his father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, known for his racist and anti-Semitic comments.

Bardella’s great victory anticipated the plans of the RN, which through its party vice-president, Sébastien Chenu, announced, this Monday (10), that the MEP will be his party’s candidate for the position of prime minister in France.

“Jordan Bardella was elected European deputy, so he already has popular anointing” and “he is our candidate to go to Matignon”, the name of the prime minister’s official residence, he declared to the press.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the leader of the Unsubmissive France Party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, supported Macron’s decision to dissolve the legislature and stated that the president no longer has the legitimacy to govern.

“When we are rebels, we do not fear the people. On the contrary”, said leader França Insubmissa, on Sunday night. “He no longer has the legitimacy to continue his policies. He no longer has the legitimacy to continue the system of widespread social mistreatment in which he is involved,” he declared.

His co-religionist, François Ruffin, deputy from Unsubmissive France in the National Assembly dissolved by Macron, called on left-wing forces to “support a common barrier” that would be called the “Popular Front”. “We are capable of a wave, we can win”, he guarantees. Manon Aubry, head of the La France Insoumise list for the European elections, declared that “the President of the Republic took note this evening of his resounding defeat”.

Of the 81 seats, the National Reunion party (Rassemblement National, in French) won 30 seats, according to estimates made by the Verian consultancy. The list supported by Macron’s party, the Renaissance (Renaissance, in French), had 13 seats in Brussels, the same number reached by the Socialist party, which obtained 13.8% of the votes, according to projections.

Preliminary results indicate that the French bench will be distributed as follows:

• National Meeting: 30 seats (31.4%)
• Renaissance: 13 places (14.6%)
• Socialists: 13 places (13.8%)
• Unsubmissive: 9 places (9.9%)
• Republicans: 6 places (7.3%)
• Environmentalists: 5 places (5.5%)
• Reconquista: 5 places (5.5%)

Read also: Left advances and far right is defeated in the Nordic countries of the European Union