France’s Macron called for early elections after losing heavily to the far-right in the EU vote

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he would dissolve the country’s parliament and call for a new nationwide legislative vote after suffering a heavy defeat in the EU elections.

The shocking announcement came later Explore the exit published by public broadcaster France TV indicates that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National, or RN) is expected to win about 31.5% of the vote, compared to 15 .2% of Macron’s Renaissance party.

“At the end of today, I will not be able to act as if nothing happened,” Mr. Macron said in a televised speech, according to a CNBC translation.

Mr. Macron said the first round of the parliamentary election will take place on June 30 and the second round on July 7.

After asking Macron to call an election, Le Pen welcomed the news and said on X: “We are ready for it.”

Call for legislative elections It’s a risky move by Macron, who could lose control of France’s domestic affairs if Le Pen’s RN wins a majority in parliament. Macron’s presidency will end in 2027 and he cannot run for a third term.

“By suddenly bringing things to a head in new parliamentary elections, Macron can hope to restore fortunes,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said in a note on Sunday evening. destiny of our party”. “However, without a major change in sentiment, his party looks set to lose heavily in the parliamentary election.”

He added that, for a fiscally challenged France, new elections would create additional uncertainty and could cause some market concern.

RN is led in Europe by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, who has made it his mission to make the far right acceptable to French youth and beyond. in one The Ipsos poll was released in May32% of respondents said they would be satisfied if Bardella became president in 2027 (ahead of Le Pen, who came in second with 31%).

The nationalist and populist party’s election campaign pledges include “restoring” order to France, closing “extremist” mosques and stopping what it calls the submersion of migrants”. It also pledges to reduce VAT on energy bills, invest in nuclear energy and reduce the retirement age to 60, “for those who start working early”.

Historic commitments to leave the EU and abandon the Agreement euro was removed by Le Pen some time ago when she wanted to attract more voters.

“However, whether today’s French results and the possibility of gains in early parliamentary elections can put Le Pen on the path to becoming president is very much a matter of concern,” said Berenberg’s Schmieding. other”.

“For her, it’s easy to criticize a second-term president who has lost support. But that’s not the same as winning the presidential election (expected in 2027) against a new candidate. A lot will depend on whether the French take a centrist path or not.” Parties could field an attractive candidate against her.”

Polls closed on Sunday after the final and biggest day of voting in the European Parliament member elections, with Populist, far-right parties win record supportaccording to initial data.

However, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) is once again predicted to win the most seats in parliament with slightly more seats than before.

– CNBC’s Charlotte Reed contributed to this report.