Far-right parties made major gains on the final day of European elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to the parties of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The National Rally party is expected to win at least 30% of the vote in France’s election, nearly double the support of Macron’s Renaissance party, which is expected to get about 15%. European Union estimates As of Sunday.
President Macron announced Sunday that he would dissolve France’s lower house of parliament and hold general elections on June 30 and July 7, the Associated Press reported. Macron’s announcement came after opinion polls showed his party was trailing far behind far-right parties, the press agency said.
“I have decided to give back to you the right to decide the future of parliament through your vote. That is why I am dissolving the National Assembly,” Macron said, according to the Associated Press.
In Germany, Scholz’s Social Democrats are expected to jump to third place, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party predicted to jump to second, according to European Union figures. Quote.
Estimates suggest that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s center-right Christian Democrats will win about 30 percent of the vote in Germany. Von der Leyen addressed her German supporters via video on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
“Even in difficult times, the strongest and most stable trends have been established, which is even better,” von der Leyen said, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press noted that across the European Union, the two mainstream parties, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remain the top two parties.
The Associated Press contributed.
