The first official results have confirmed a landslide victory for France’s far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, more than doubling the vote share of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist group.
The resounding defeat prompted Macron on Sunday to dissolve the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and announce elections just a few weeks away.
The Eurosceptic National Rally – which until six years ago was called the National Front – has softened its image in recent years in an effort to broaden its appeal and strengthen Le Pen’s bid for the presidency.
The party received 31.36% of the vote in the European elections, according to provisional results announced by the Interior Ministry early on Monday after all votes had been counted.
Macron’s camps came in a distant second place with 14.6%. The Socialists came third with 13.83%.
Another far-right party, Reconquête, won 5.47%.
Macron’s job as president is not at stake in the upcoming elections, as the next presidential election will not take place until 2027.
His goal is to create a more stable majority for his remaining term. He will hope that citizens in France will not vote in the same way in the national elections as they did in the European Parliament elections, and that the snap elections will break Le Pen’s momentum.
Macron’s government camp has not had an absolute majority in the National Assembly for two years.
