French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the country’s parliament on Sunday after exit polls revealed that his Renaissance Party is facing the threat of a crushing defeat by the far-right opposition in the European parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Macron also called for a parliamentary election, even as the exit polls revealed that the far-right party is leading by a wide margin.
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 well ahead in the European Union’s parliamentary election, defeating Macron’s pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes.
