France's President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the country's parliament, the National Assembly, and called a snap election after an exit poll showed his Renaissance party is set to be trounced by the far-right opposition in European parliamentary elections on Sunday.
After initial projections, the far-right National Rally (RN) party came out on top with 31.5 percent of the vote, more than double the share of Renaissance, which scraped into second place on 15.2 percent of the vote, just ahead of the Socialists in third with 14.3 percent of the vote.
In a celebratory speech after the publication of the exit poll, RN leader Jordan Bardella had called on Macron to dissolve the French parliament, calling the gap between the two parties a "stinging disavowal" for the president.
"This unprecedented defeat for the current government marks the end of a cycle, and Day 1 of the post-Macron era," Bardella told a raucous audience at RN's headquarters.
Within an hour, Macron made a national address, announcing he would dissolve the French lower house and hold parliamentary elections. The first round will be held on June 30, with a second round on July 7, Macron said.
"I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future by voting. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly this evening," Macron said in the shock announcement.
"This decision is serious, heavy. But it is above all, an act of trust. Trust in you, my dear compatriots. In the capacity of the French people to make the most just decision," the French president added.
Under the French system, parliamentary elections are held to elect the 577 members of the lower house, the National Assembly. Separate elections are held to choose the country's president, which are not scheduled again until 2027.
In the last set of parliamentary elections held in 2022, the Ensemble coalition including Macron's Renaissance party fell short of an overall majority and were forced to seek help from elsewhere.
