French President Emmanuel Macron called snap legislative elections after his pro-European party was handed a chastening defeat and projected to garner less than half the support of Marine Le Pen’s National RallyMacron hopes to contain far right in national elections after it surged in EU voteThe far right's surge in France in elections for the European Parliament was widely expected. He hopes that voters will band together to contain the far right in national elections in a way they didn't in European ones. Still, Raphaël Glucksmann, the lead Socialist candidate, accused Macron of caving into the National Rally’s calls for a dissolution of the National Assembly. He said the move “will remain a stain on Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, one more,” and blamed the French president for what he sees as an “extremely dangerous” game. The French president would have sway, however, over the country’s foreign and defense policy.

Source: ABC News June 10, 2024 14:41 UTC