Emmanuel Macron dissolves French parliament and calls snap elections

Headshot

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jun/09/eu-europe-elections-2024-results-news-updates-live-latest

I'm absolutely shocked

He hadn't got any choice really

ancapailldorcha

Maybe I should stall on applying for that job in Gascony.

Seriously though, I think he's hoping to nip it in the bud with a short election period to catch the RN unprepared. Interesting times.

Varik

EU election must have shook him if he doesn't want to wait.

The last election was 2022 and they've a 5 year term max.

June 30 and July 7, 3 weeks for first round that's soon.

Danzy

A carnival of reaction against the surge for Marine and the French working class.

opinionated3

Looks like the potential end of the EU project. Moves to far right parties in both France and Germany does not bode well for the future.

greenfield21

What a gift to the far right from Macron, still three years left on term too, surely beat option could have trundled along..

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

A call for an election is not the end of the EU…Christ.

brickster69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

Sounds like another W for the conspiracy theorists

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

A large growth in support for Marie Le Penn is becusse they've admitted leaving the EU isn't a runner and isn't what French people want.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

Despite all their rhetoric the hard right parties have no interest in leaving the EU. This was demonstrated amply when Brexit happned every one of them shut up about leaving the EU. What they want is an EU with less rights to interfere in domestic human rights legislation and boarder control, which they will push for from with the EU. If the EU cannot cope with this then it doesn't deserve to survive.

ToweringPerformance

Newstalk only slagging off Le Pen last week as finished. The cope on the likes of Shane Coleman tomorrow is going to be epic.

archfi

'Les tallies' must be monumentally shyte for President Neoliberal.

While our lot have repeated over the weekend that the EU elections are 'second order' elections, the French political set believe the opposite.

But then again, they along with Germany run the thing so they'd probably actually know.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239290#Comment_122239290

Economically Le Pen is well to the left, but reflects working class social views, which is where she really differs from the left.

CelticRambler

As someone who lives amongst them (my neighbours voted 44% for the Front National [yeah, a change of name doesn't make them any different] and the region where I most frequently work gave them 56% of the vote) all I can say is they're all bred from the same thick-eejit MAGA and Brexiter stock. Everything they complain about on a local level is something that's within their power to change, but instead of voting for the guy (or girl) who promises to do something radical to change it, they vote for candidate that promises a return to the glories of the stone age. Then they complain that they didn't get what they were promised, so vote for him again because it's a vote against "the System", "the elite", "the immigrants".

I reckon Macron is following the advice of my aged artist friend and laying down the challenge: "you think the Far Right would be good for France? Fine - vote them in and let's see what happens". And d'you know what? I think it's a good move. I'd happily put up with 5 (4 … 3 … 2 years) of having the FN in government fecking up the country if it meant that they were thoroughly destroyed at the election after that. But then again I'm one of those much despised economic migrants that came over and took their houses and jobs. :-p

highpitcheric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

I cant see the reintroduction of trade borders. Or the return of 27 different currencies.

So what exactly is the end supposed to look like?

zell12

Euro football Championships and Olympics on as well. Poor Frenchies

ForestFire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239127#Comment_122239127

As someone else said, he had 3 years left in Office.

Why call an election now when your opposition is on the crest of a wave?

I know some will say the public sent a message, but there is no onus to call an election.

At least limp along for 6-12 months, and try to turn the support before going into a game of Jeopardy ??

ToweringPerformance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239399#Comment_122239399

You are an EU citizen im guessing. It's not EU citizens they are having massive problems with. Parts of their big cities have turned into shanty towns and no go areas.

astrofool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239411#Comment_122239411

Should put off a few of the planned strikes at the least.

Irish Aris

Are they maybe afraid that leaving it longer could lead to LePen getting enough traction to form a government on her own? If I'm not mistaken historically FN's issue was that no other French Party would openly support them when they were on the second round.

A gamble anyway to call an election. I think though this was coming for a few years now.

The neo-liberal dream has run it's course, all the silver has been sold off and the bills have come due. People are scrambling for an alternative and the fascit have been laying the groundwork for a comeback for over a decade so they have filled the void.

The poor suckers will regret it when they start talking of culling the useless feeders and they realise it was them all along who were the target.

Stupidity is infinite.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239436#Comment_122239436

Yeah, and d'you know what - they're almost exclusively populated by French citizens. Of course they're the "wrong kind" of French - wrong colour, wrong religion, wrong name, whatever; but they're a hell of a lot more French than I am.

Same bigotry from the same short-sighted xenophobes - Irish, British, French, German, American …

.Donegal.

This isn’t a presidential election as some elsewhere seem to think.

In the first round of the presidential election in 2022 le pen scraped in just 1.2% ahead of melenchon

CelticRambler

An interesting facet of these results is what we're also seeing happen in GB: the traditional right, in chasing marginal Far-Right voters have shot themselves in both feet and the head. Where the left-of-centre PS was almost wiped out two elections ago, they've come in a tight third, less than 1% point behind the governing centrists. On the other hand, the traditional Right (of centre) have been relegated to 5th place. No-one wants a "Far Right Light", nor do they want a "Righter-than-Before" party. Going by the shambolic campaigning so far "across the water" it wouldn't surprise me to see the same fate befall the Tories.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239417#Comment_122239417

And he'll still have three years left in office.

.Donegal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

Far right got 16% in Germany?

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239290#Comment_122239290

I think they know the EU won't survive if there's a north/south divide on migration.

If they can't directly campaign on leaving the EU, next best is to split it by other means. The migration pact was already a huge concession to the far-right but see how they turn on it.

gral6

Now, it is beginning of the end of EU. Well done to Putin and Orban.

ForestFire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239538#Comment_122239538

If he has 3 years now how can he have 3 years in 6 months to 12 months?

….and the point is to stay in office until an election looks more favourable to his party, if possible.

ToweringPerformance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239575#Comment_122239575

Putin or Orban have nothing to do with it. Merkel let millions of Muslims into Germany alone a few years back France also people are fed up with it. A lurch to the right is an inevitable consequence that's why politics need balance and not the garbage we've seen over the last decade or more.

Eudaimonia

Calling all Europhiles to rally to the cause and put the Front National is their rightful place. Macron might have to face realities and bring a crackdown on immigration but he won’t be able to do so pre election to convince the Latin and Gallic nationalists.

What will sway this election is a vote on membership and existence of Europe which he will win. Then the Russian Ukrainian question will also discount Le Pen. One thing I will give her, she is wily, streetwise and manipulative.

I reckon the two above issues will see her defeated as France is not a fascist country. Not the end of the world. Also more balls to Macron for showing disdain and throwing the toys out of the pram and accepting the challenge. Fortune favours the brave.

JP Liz V1

Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration, nationalist party is estimated to get around 31-32% of the votes, a historic result more than double the share of Mr Macron’s Renaissance party, which is projected to reach around 15%.

Mr Macron, who lost his majority at the National Assembly in 2022, is taking a big risk with the move that could backfire and increase the chances of Ms Le Pen eventually taking power.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/macron-dissolves-french-parliament-and-calls-snap-election-after-eu-vote-defeat-1635939.html

Mi-figue mi-raisin 😊

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

Hi Nigel!

Thats the daftest take I ever heard.

You only have to look at Georgia Meloni. She's an avowed Europhile, but wants to lead in back to the right as a whole, not end it!

HalloweenJack

Sanchez did something similar n Spain. Poor display in local elections so he called a general one and stemmed the rise of the right, practically removing the far-right on a national level in the process.

JoChervil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239399#Comment_122239399

Eeee, in Poland they ruled last 8 years. You can't even imagine, how they can destroy everything. I am so happy they were conquered eventually last October leaving country completely ruined and it will take ages to return to normal.

IngazZagni

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239935#Comment_122239935

Very personal opinion that but not shared by everyone. Poland has had an incredible rise in strength and wealth under the PiS. GDP growth has been collosol. More than halving the unemployment rate. Polish cities have statistically some of the lowest crime rates in Europe and you really feel that in the city centres there compared to Irish and other European cities.

It has struggled with rampant inflation that much of Europe also faced but made worse by having their own currency. Now they've shifted left but only to the centre right EPP.

faceman

Macron did the right thing and it will work. Same thing happened in Spain last year and Sanchez called a snap election. The far right had swept across local and regional elections but failed to materialise a win when the snap election was called.

It was messy and the government still didn't get an outright majority but it gave the far right a chance to actually govern at local level. In my area in Spain the far right party cooled their jets when they realised that potholes have to be fixed and people get angry when they can't open hospitals as quickly as previous government.

astrofool

Interesting that the brexit disaster has managed to transform parties to the right across Europe into something that looks electable by them abandoning similar exit policies.

And that the UK is now swinging back the other way.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122240735#Comment_122240735

Britain has a long way to swing yet. That said, Brexit was such a stupid idea that the Eurosceptics on the continent quickly ditched their own exit agenda.

JoChervil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122240086#Comment_122240086

What are you talking about? Our GDP didn't hike in any way. Stays just average.

And the latest GDP growth.

While our debt sky rocketed especially outside budget. They also ruined our judicial system and if they stayed in power for 4 more years, we would have Russia system in Poland with oligarchs making their wealth from stealing public money. Not even mentioning rampant corruption, cronyism and nepotism.With hatred propaganda non stop on our public TV. Good luck in wishing anyone to live in a such country.

And crime rates were even lower during socialism times because we were a police country, so it is not an achievement of PIS.

Your view is very naive.

twinytwo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239399#Comment_122239399

That is some sweeping statement and a perfect example of the arrogance that has led to these right parties even getting a look in in the first place.

BailMeOut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239243#Comment_122239243

a bit of an overreaction I'd say. There were pretty much zero rumblings from anywhere about any new Brexit's in the EU.

ArthurDayne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122241465#Comment_122241465

Yeah, 9 years ago she was literally calling herself Madame Frexit and promising a Frexit referendum at every turn. While she might still harbour intentions of reforming the EU and will portray herself as taking Brussels on — the irony of course being that France itself is one of the key players in Brussels (insert Spidermen pointing at each other meme) — I imagine the penny might have dropped that the collapse of the EU and subsequent increased difficulty of intra-European migration would probably be counter-productive when really it's the non-European migrants Le Pen has it in for.

lumphammer2

Macron made 2 mistakes …. the first was being too hardline on the so-called 'pension reform' and not listening to the concerns of the people during protests about that …..

The second mistake is hardline rhetoric regarding Ukraine …. too much talk of sending troops to Ukraine etc …. in other words inviting WW3 as a real possibility …. such bellicose language only emboldens the hardliners in Russia and Putin is more likely to give them concessions if Macron is talking like that …. ultimately shifting Russia's government further to the far right …. Macron meanwhile scares the French people and nobody wants to hear talk of NATO troops from their country going in to fight against the Russian army ….

As if the European Elections and upcoming UK, Iranian and US elections were not enough …. this French election is thrown in as well …. we will have to wait and see …. this Marine Le Pen? …. will she be a real far right lunatic like Trump or Hitler or will she be more a French Georgia Meloni ?? … one thing is she is not her father and is more moderate …. in other words she may not be far right at all …. I do not consider Meloni to be real far right as she is too pragmatic and Marine Le Pen may be more like that than the lunatics in the US Republican party ….

Ultimately we will have to wait and see …… Macron was a bit of a disaster and turned off large swathes of his electorate …

PS … where is your man Sarcozy thesse days ??? Would he attempt to revive himself and grab an opportunity ?? …

ToweringPerformance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122244045#Comment_122244045

Good point regarding Ukraine. The bottom line most Europeans couldn't give two shiny sh its about Ukraine and certainly have zero interest going to war with Russia over it. Macron playing the tough guy over it has backfired massively.

Hoop66

Ah, I see the slightly more aggressive version is posting today.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122240430#Comment_122240430

Did Sanchez and his government have three years left to run? I don't believe they had.

From a strategic point, with three years remaining, what is the benefit of remaining in power (if that's his plan), but having a looser grip (the best possible outcome?)?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122244188#Comment_122244188

The benefit, I think, is puncturing expectations about a coming far-right wave. He hopes to show that people will vote for far-right parties in euro elections in numbers that simply won't be replicated in national elections with a change of government at stake. Plus he hopes that the rigours of actually holding any office will take further shine off the Le Pen movement.

The prize here is the next French presidential election. Macron can't stand — there's a two-term max — but he will hope to hand over to a centrist successor, not to Le Pen.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122244045#Comment_122244045

Yes, Macron was such a disaster that he was the first president since Chirac to get re-elected.

Also your man Sarkozy is a) retired from politics, b) probably not that interested in a public role given his multiple corruption convictions.

ArthurDayne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122244208#Comment_122244208

Indeed, some risk of course that voters take umbrage to a perceived "when it comes down to it, Monsieur Tout-le-Monde will fall into line" arrogance — but Macron appears to be banking on not allowing months of narrative to build up.