Far-right gains in the EU elections have triggered a snap parliamentary election in France, with President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call the vote labelled by many as a high-risk move.
Despite centrist parties retaining an overall majority in the European parliament, across the bloc extreme right parties notched a string of high-profile wins, with a resounding win by the far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen prompting Macron to make the gamble.
The RN won 31.5% of the vote to 15% for Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, according to exit polls.
“We are ready to take power if the French show trust in us,” Le Pen told her party on Sunday evening.
“I cannot act as if nothing had happened,” Macron told the country in a national address.
The French people, he said, must now make “the best choice for itself and future generations”.
Source: The Guardian
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