Rise of the right: France's Macron dissolves parl., calls snap election after defeat in EU vote
France's Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the French parliament and called a snap election after far right made major gains in the European elections.
“I’ve decided to hand you back the choice of our parliamentary future with a vote,” Macron said in a televised address on Sunday, adding, “I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.”
The announcement came as France’s far-right National Rally inflicted a stinging defeat on Macron's party in the European Parliament elections.
National Rally, fronted by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, won over 31% of the vote, double that of Macron's centrist party Renaissance.
The crushing loss to the far right came despite Macron’s repeated warnings against the rise of the far-right parties in Europe, whom he said can bring the continent to “a standstill.”
Beyond France, the parties of the center right strengthened their majority in the European Parliament, scoring victories in Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain, and significant advances in Hungary.
“The center is holding, but it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the center-right head of the European Commission, now on course for a second term.
Voting for the four-day European Parliament elections kicked off in the Netherlands on Thursday.
The 27 EU countries had the elections on different days; for instance, people in France and Sweden headed to polls on Sunday.
In the first European election since Britain left the EU, voters are being asked to elect 720 lawmakers to the European Parliament. The lawmakers will represent the interests of the approximately 450 million EU citizens at the European level.
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