French President Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday, dissolved the country’s National Assembly and called for snap legislative elections. In a televised announcement from the Elysee Palace, he said, “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.” This comes as he faced a major defeat in the 705-member European Parliament elections wherein rightist Marine Le Pen’s National Rally gave a crushing defeat to Macron’s centrist Renaissance.
The French president insisted that the decision was a “serious and heavy” one. He also mentioned that he could not resign himself to the fact that “far-right parties … are progressing everywhere on the continent”. Furthermore, Macron called it “an act of confidence” and stated that he had in France’s voters “the capacity of the French people to make the best choice for themselves and for future generations”.
Here’s what is next for France
Article 12 of the French constitution enables the President to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale to resolve any sort of “political crisis”. This could include “permanent and irreconcilable differences” between the legislative and the executive wing of the parliament. The constitution mandates that the voters be called to the polls 20 to 40 days after the assembly is dissolved. As per Macron’s announcement, the elections will be held in two phases on June 30 and July 7.