Macron Dissolves National Assembly After EP Election Defeat

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the dissolution of the National Assembly. This decision follows the defeat of his party in the 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections, according to local media reports.

“I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly,” Macron stated in a brief address to the nation. He emphasized the gravity of the decision, describing it as “a serious, weighty decision” and “an act of trust” in the French electorate.

The elections to the National Assembly will be held in two rounds, scheduled for June 30 and July 7.

Macron’s Renaissance party secured only 15.2% of the votes in the 2024 EP elections, significantly trailing behind the far-right National Rally (RN), which garnered 31.8%.

RN President Jordan Bardella commented on the results, saying, “The unprecedented gap between the presidential majority and the leading opposition party reflects a stinging disavowal and rejection of the policies led by Emmanuel Macron.”

Marine Le Pen, the parliamentary party leader of RN, expressed readiness for the upcoming elections. “We’re ready for it. I call on French people to join us in forming around the RN a majority in the service of the only cause that guides our steps: France,” she stated on social media platform X.

The EP elections, conducted from June 6 to June 9, involved voters from the 27 EU member states selecting 720 lawmakers for the 10th EP.

This political shake-up signals a tumultuous period ahead for French politics as the nation prepares for the imminent parliamentary elections.