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5 months ago
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French president Emmanuel Macron has called a snap election in the wake of a massive swing to the right during the country's European Union elections.
Macron tonight suffered a major defeat after Marine le Pen's National Rally party took home a projected 31.5% of the vote following the country's European Union elections.
His Renaissance party meanwhile suffered one of the worst ever defeats for a party in French government, taking just 15.2% of France's vote.
Macron dissolved France's parliament and called the election in the wake of the major defeat, announcing the first round will take place on June 30, while the second will take place on July 7.
He said, following his announcement: 'France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony. To be French, at heart, it is about choosing to write history, not be driven by it.'
French president Emmanuel Macron (pictured) has called a snap election in the wake of a massive swing to the right during the country's European Union elections
Supporters of French far-right National Rally react at the party election night headquarters after French President Emanuel Macron announced he dissolves National Assembly
One woman was seen gleefully drinking as Macron called a snap election
Supporters of the far-right National Rally party were seen gleefully celebrating the dissolution of France's parliament, having been buoyed by their success at the EU elections.
The EU election, which has been held across the continent over the last three days, is the first since Brexit, the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On top of these, many voters have been hit by the cost of living, have concerns about migration and the cost of the green transition and are disturbed by geopolitical tensions, including war in Ukraine, and hard and far-right parties have seized on this and offered the electorate an alternative.
It isn't only French citizens who have been wooed by the far-right tonight.
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SDU) was projected to come third, taking just 14% of the votes, a historic low for the party according to German broadcasters who commissioned exit polls.
Far and hard-right parties in Germany, meanwhile, have been projected to take the lead.
Many voters have been hit by the cost of living, have concerns about migration and the cost of the green transition and are disturbed by geopolitical tensions
The EU election, which has been held across the continent over the last three days, is the first since Brexit, the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine
A conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) took home 29.5% of the vote.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), took second, with 16.5% of the votes - a massive 5.5% increase compared to the 2019 EU election.
A similar result was seen in Austrian exit polls, with the far-right FPOe party leading the vote count.
If confirmed, it would be the first time the group has topped a nationwide ballot in the Alpine country.
The Freedom Party (FPOe) gained 27 percent of the votes, ahead of the ruling conservative People's Party (OeVP), according to the polls released by the country's main media outlets.
The EU Parliament, which will be made up of 720 seats after the election finishes, is made up of multi-party factions.
While centre-left and centre-right factions have largely dominated the bloc's parliament since its last election in 2019, these parties are broadly expected to lose seats as more and more Europeans turn to more extreme parties in the hopes that they may solve their problems with the EU.
More to follow.
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