Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, has called a snap legislative election after the French right made significant advances over the weekend in elections for the European parliament.
France uses a two-round system to elect its legislature, with the first round to be held at the end of the month and the second round a week after that.
The last French legislative election was held in 2022, and saw a hung parliament. Macron’s Renaissance party was part of the Ensemble coalition which managed to get 245 of the 577 seats up for grabs. It currently governs as a minority government.
As France uses a Presidential system of government, Macron’s job is fairly safe until 2027, when he will have to stand down because of term limits.
Initial results show that the French right, primarily represented by Marine le Pen’s National Rally, won over 30% of the vote, while Macron’s party and allies won just under 15%. The Socialist party and its allies won about 13%, with no other group or alliance managing more than 10% of the vote.
On X, formerly Twitter, Macron said: ‘I am confident in the capacity of the French people to make the right choice for themselves and for future generations. My sole ambition is to be useful to our country that I love so much.’
Analysts say this is a gamble for Macron, and the French right could get very close to securing a legislative majority in this month’s poll.