French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed on Monday, a day after announcing the dissolution of the National Assembly, his confidence in the "ability of the French people" to "make the right choice" during the early legislative elections scheduled in three weeks. Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and the organization of new legislative elections on Sunday evening, following the historic victory of the far-right in the European elections, which saw them significantly outperform the presidential majority camp.
Macron wrote on the platform "X": "I trust the French people to make the most appropriate choice for themselves and future generations. My only ambition is to be useful to our country, which I love."
Legislative elections will be held on June 30 and July 7. Macron had stated earlier, "I have confidence in the capacity of the French people to make the fairest choice for themselves and for future generations. My only ambition is to be useful to our country that I love so much."
With around 31.5% to 32% of the votes, according to the Ipsos and Ifop institutes, the right-wing National Rally party, led by Jordan Bardella, dealt a significant blow to Macron's camp in the European elections, achieving its best result in a national election and significantly contributing to the rise of national and sovereign forces in the European Parliament. Bardella will be his party’s candidate for the position of Prime Minister in France, as announced by his deputy Sébastien Chenu on Monday.
Chenu stated on RTL radio: "Bardella has been elected as a member of the European Parliament, and thus has received popular validation," adding, "He is our candidate" for Prime Minister.
The European elections witnessed the rise of the far-right in several countries, causing a political earthquake in France, while still maintaining the political balance in Brussels. Preliminary data confirmed that national right-wing parties made significant gains, marking a bitter setback for the leaders of the two main powers in the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Macron.
