Emmanuel Macron Gets Rude Shock After Announcing Snap Vote

Marine Le Pen won the first round of French Parliamentary elections, leaving President Emmanuel Macron’s party languishing in third place. Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) won with 34% of the vote after Macron called a snap election. The President surprised Europe with an election after RN trounced his centrist party in recent European Union polls. Commentators suggested that Macron sought to cut down Le Pen and halt her rise, but the gamble spectacularly backfired.

Much of the European press sees Ms. Le Pen as “far right.” She fiercely opposes mass immigration, which she says has changed the face of her country and poses an existential threat to French culture. She is skeptical of the European Union and has called for significant reform.

Paris-born Le Pen pushed Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition into third place with just 21%, and in second place was a left-wing coalition called the New Popular Front Alliance, which was cobbled together to present a leftist front against Ms. Le Pen.

France’s electoral system is complex, and voting occurs in rounds, but Le Pen aims to secure 289 of the country’s 577 Parliamentary seats – a governing majority. Her opponents are determined to stop her, and left-wing activists nationwide have reacted furiously to her gains.

Leftists rioted across French cities as the results became known, and businesses closed to prevent looting and damage. Fires burned across Paris, where rioters clashed with police next to some of Europe’s most famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Place de la République.

In a victory speech, Le Pen declared Macron’s party “over” and urged the French people to continue using their vote to take back their country. Left-wingers and mainstream journalists, however, have pleaded with France not to give Le Pen a Parliamentary majority and the momentum to take the Presidency in 2027. Jen-Luc Mélenchon of the New Popular Front alliance said he has one aim: “Not a single more vote for the National Rally.”