PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called on moderate politicians from the left and right to reunite to defeat the far right in upcoming parliamentary elections that he called after his party’s crushing defeat in European Parliament elections.
A solemn-looking Macron addressed French voters for the first time since his surprise decision on Sunday. Dissolve the Dietthe French National Assembly.
The move triggered two early parliamentary elections, to be held on June 30 and July 7, three weeks after Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party won European Union parliamentary elections.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Macron said he had decided on the risky move because he could not ignore new political realities following a humiliating defeat for his pro-European parties, which received less than half the support of his National Rally. Star leader Jordan Bardella.
Unlike Macron’s recent national addresses, which focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine and ways for Europe to forge a common defense policy independent of the United States and strengthen trade protections against China, he stuck to domestic issues popular with the right: curbing immigration, fighting crime and tackling Islamic separatism in France.
With three years left in his second presidential term, Macron is hoping voters will unite to contain the far-right in national elections. In Europe this was not the caseHe called on “men and women of good will who can say ‘no’ to extremes to come together and build a common project for the country.”
“Today, things are simple: we have an unnatural alliance at two extremes, no agreement apart from job sharing, no plan can be implemented,” Macron said in his opening remarks at a news conference in Paris.
“We are not perfect, we have not done everything right, but we have achieved results, and above all, we know how to act,” Macron said of his centrist coalition.
The decision to send voters who expressed dissatisfaction with President Macron’s politics to the polls That was a risky move. The result could be that France’s far-right could lead the government for the first time since World War II.
Potential alliances and France’s two-round voting system in national elections make the outcome of the vote highly uncertain. Macron remains adamant that French voters have the will to refuse to choose between the two extremes of the political spectrum. He is adamant that he is not succumbing to defeatism and has said he intends to serve a second term as president regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary vote.
“I think the French are smart, they see what is being done, what is consistent and what is not, and they know what to do,” Macron said, adding: “I am far from believing the worst will happen. I am an indefatigable optimist.”
The prime minister denied accusations that calling for early general elections would help the far-right take power in France.
“It’s about allowing the political forces chosen by the French people to govern,” he said, adding: “It’s crazy to think that they have to be far-right or political extremists. Or maybe there’s a spirit of defeat spreading everywhere.”
“If that’s what people are afraid of, now is the time to act,” he said.
Left and right opposition parties They are scrambling to form alliances and field candidates. Early Legislative Voting.
While deep differences remain between parties on both sides of the political spectrum, the prominent figures calling for a united front seem to have one thing in common: They don’t want to work with Macron.
Despite their divisions, left-wing parties agreed late on Monday to form a coalition including the Greens, Socialists, Communists and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left Unbowed France party.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, is working to bolster her right-wing party in an effort to translate its European success into a domestic victory and bring it closer to taking power. The far-right party, with a history of racism and xenophobia, is expected to win the most seats in France in the European Parliament, potentially winning 30 of France’s 81 seats in the National Assembly.
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Barbara Sark reported from Nice, France.
