French President Emmanuel Macron said 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, 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 the first projected results from France on Sunday put the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen well ahead in the European Union's parliamentary election, defeating Macron's pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes. It is also a massive political risk, since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Adding insult to injury, the National Rally's lead candidate, Jordan Bardella, all of 28 years old, immediately took on a presidential tone with his victory speech in Paris, opening with "My dear compatriots" and adding that "the French people have given their verdict, and it's final."
