President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday issued a challenge to the French people and the right-wing populist opposition, calling for early elections to save his leadership and now saying he will not resign even if defeated.
France will elect a new parliament on June 30 after a surprisingly short election campaign – just three weeks after a new vote was called on Sunday just hours after President Emmanuel Macron’s party suffered a humiliating defeat in the European Parliament elections. Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s right-wing populist Rally National (RN) won twice as many votes as Macron’s group, the highest proportion of any French party in the past 40 years.
Macron’s “act or shut up” challenge to the French people could put everything at risk if the RN wins, especially now that a right-wing coalition is being formed around Le Pen to win the election. But high stakes or not, Macron insists he has no intention of giving up the Élysée Palace even if he suffers a second major defeat, and will continue to rule a country that is decidedly opposed to him, without the support of parliament.
Panic in Paris as Macron’s ‘suicidal’ early elections pave the way for populist right’s power grabhttps://t.co/L4dZqqQL9E
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 11, 2024
Par The Parisian, Citing the French constitution, Macron argued that while two consecutive major defeats might make it seem like it’s time to step aside, he would persevere. “It was not the French National Party that wrote the constitution, nor its spirit. The system is clear and so is the president’s position, whatever the outcome,” he said.
Macron said the election was held to “clarify” the political situation in the country and urged French people to vote, saying: “I [doing this] To win!”.
As things stand, Macron will have little choice but to appoint RN president Jordan Bardella as prime minister if the party wins a landslide victory in two separate elections, to be held at the end of this month and on July 7. What this means for France and its political fate is unclear, as much is still uncertain.
French presidents have come to power in the face of parliamentary opposition in the past, but Macron does not currently have control of parliament. There are rumors that Macron envisions Bardella and Le Pen coming to power in parliament as part of his long-term plan, a trap to give the right a taste of power, and the centrist globalists will likely hope that they fail.
