09 June 2024 , 21:00
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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen welcomed Mr Macron’s call for new parliamentary elections
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap legislative election after his party suffered a heavy defeat in elections for the European Parliament.
In an address to the nation from the Elysee presidential palace, Mr Macron said: “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.”
The vote will take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said.
The move comes as first projected results from France on Sunday put the far-right National Rally party well ahead in the European Union’s parliamentary election, defeating Macron’s pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen welcomed Mr Macron’s call for new parliamentary elections.
“We are ready to take over the power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections,” she said during a rally on Sunday
Led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the National Rally won around 32 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s vote, more than double Macron ticket’s 15 per cent, according to the first exit polls.
Mr Bardella told supporters: “Emmanuel Macron is a weakened president tonight.
“The unprecedented gap between the presidential majority and the leading opposition party tonight reflects a stinging disavowal and rejection of the president and his government.”