EU elections 2024 live: Macron says France needs ‘clear majority’ after calling snap elections following far-right surge | European elections

Explanation of early elections in France

John Henley

In a shock move, French President Emmanuel Macron has called early parliamentary elections to be held within the next 30 days. What exactly happened, why – and what might come next?

What were Macron’s motives?

The president said the decision was “serious and difficult” but could not accept the fact that “far-right parties… are advancing everywhere on the continent”.

After his centrist coalition lost its parliamentary majority in the 2022 election, Macron resorted to pushing legislation through without a vote in the assembly using a controversial constitutional tool known as 49/3.

But Sunday’s dramatic move is a huge risk: Macron’s party could suffer further losses. However, most analysts predict that while the far-right party may emerge with more MPs, it is unlikely to win enough seats to give it a majority – meaning the next parliament could be even more muddled and ineffective than the current one .

It is possible that he is looking for a neutralizing “cohabitation effect”. If Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Union (RN) gets good results and, for example, party president Jordan Bardela gets a bid for prime minister, two and a half years in government may be enough time, for the far right is also unpopular.

How did the National Assembly respond?

Bardella was the first to call on Macron to call early legislative elections, telling supporters after the forecasts were announced that French voters had “expressed a desire for change”. The country “has issued its verdict and there is no appeal,” he said.

Le Pen, the party leader and presidential candidate, said she could “only welcome this decision, which is in line with the logic of the institutions of the Fifth Republic”. She said the party was “ready to take power if the French people trust us in these upcoming legislative elections.”

Nordic countries bucked the general trend in EU elections, with left and green parties making gains, official results showed, while far-right parties saw their support decline.

In Sweden, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which back Ulf Kristerson’s government, were expected to win votes and overtake Kristerson’s conservative Moderate Party to become the second largest party – as it did in the country’s 2022 general election.

Instead, the party ended up losing ground for the first time in the party’s history. She won 13.2% of the vote, down 2.1 percentage points from the 2019 election – with more than 90% of votes counted.

The Green Party emerged as the third largest in the country with 13.8% of the vote, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the 2019 election.

Meanwhile, Denmark saw a surprise surge in support for the Socialist People’s Party (SF), which became the largest party with 17.4% of the vote, up 4.2 percentage points on the 2019 result – with all votes counted.

The ruling Social Democrats lost 5.9 percentage points, winning 15.6% of the vote.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the SF was the party closest politically to the Social Democrats and that he was happy to see left-wing parties gaining ground.

“In large parts of Europe, the right wing made significant progress. We excel here in Denmark,” she said in an Instagram post.

Preliminary results show that hard-right parties finished first in France, Italy and Austria and are second Germany and the Netherlands, although centrist mainstream parties are likely to retain an overall majority in the European Parliament.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) won first place in the European Parliament, said she would “build a bulwark against extremes on the left and the right”.

There remains a majority in the center for a strong Europe and this is crucial for stability. In other words, the center holds.

The Socialists won the largest share of the vote in Malta, Romania and Sweden, helping the centre-left maintain its position as the second-largest group in parliament, albeit much weaker than in the 1990s, when they led many more governments .

The EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, the centrist Renew group and the Greens were on course for 462 of the 720 seats, a 64.1% share, compared with their share of 69.2% in the slightly smaller outgoing parliament, according to a forecast based on of final and preliminary results late Sunday.

The gains of the far-right in the EU elections triggered early parliamentary elections in Francewith President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call the vote dubbed by many as a high-risk move.

Although centrist parties retained an overall majority in the European Parliament, far-right parties across the bloc scored a series of significant victories, with the landslide victory of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Unity (RN) party prompting Macron to take the gamble.

The RN won 31.5% of the vote against 15% for Macron’s centrist Revival party, according to exit polls.

“We are ready to take power if the French show confidence in us,” Le Pen told her party on Sunday night.

“I cannot act as if nothing has happened,” Macron said in a national address to the country.

The French people, he said, must now make “the best choice for themselves and for future generations.”

Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the European Parliament elections.

It’s 6 a.m. in Brussels, where EU lawmaking will be complicated after populist right-wing parties made huge gains in many countries, while in others support for the centre-right left remained unchanged and left-wing parties made surprise gains.

Perhaps the most surprising response to the surge in support for populist parties came from France’s president, Emmanuel MacronWHO called early legislative elections after a crushing defeat by To Marine Le Pen far-right National rally.

The RN won about 32% of the French vote, more than double the roughly 15% polled by Macron’s allies, with the Socialists trailing on about 14%.

“I cannot act as if nothing happened,” Macron said. “I decided to give you the choice.”

We’ll have much more reaction to the results from across the continent, but first here’s a summary of the main results:

• Despite gains for the far and radical right on Sunday, the main pro-EU parties were on course to retain their majority in the European Parliament. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which also topped the polls in Spain and Poland, won the most seats, boosting the chances of its front-runner Ursula von der Leyen to secure a second term as European Commission president. “There remains a majority in the center for a strong Europe and this is crucial for stability.” In other words, the center holds up,” von der Leyen said. The extremes on the left and the right gained support, she said, which put “a big responsibility on the parties in the center”.

• The Socialists won the largest share of the vote in Malta, Romania and Sweden, helping the centre-left retain their position as the second largest group in parliament, though far weaker than in the 1990s, when she led many more governments. The EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, the centrist Renew group and the Greens were on course for 462 of the 720 seats, a 64.1% share, compared with their share of 69.2% in the slightly smaller outgoing parliament, according to a forecast based on of final and preliminary results late Sunday.

• Olaf Scholz’s coalition had bad night in germanyas the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made significant gains. The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union, now in opposition, took a decisive lead with 30.9 percent of the vote, according to provisional results. The AfD jumped to 14.2% from 11% in 2019 despite a string of scandals, including its leading candidate saying the SS, the Nazis’ main paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”.

• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanks voters after exit polls show her far-right Brothers from Italy a party that wins 26%-30% of the votecomfortably ahead of their centre-left rivals by 21%-25%.

• Nordic countries bucked the general trend in EU elections, with left and green parties making gains, official results show, while far-right parties saw their support decline. Denmark saw a surprise surge in support for the Socialist People’s Party (SF), which became the largest party with 17.4% of the vote, up 4.2 percentage points on the 2019 result – with all votes counted .

• Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer said he had heard voters’ “message” and would try to address their concerns ahead of national elections later this year, including a crackdown on “illegal migration”. Nehammer spoke after close to final results showed the far-right FPOe party topped the EU election with 25.7% of the vote, just ahead of his ruling conservative People’s Party (OeVP) on 24.7%.

• IN The NetherlandsGeert Wilders’ far-right party came second to the left-green alliance, but it appears to have fallen short of expectations. The Freedom Party took 17% of the vote, while the left-green alliance led by former European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans was on 21.1%.

• Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party of Hungary won the most votes but its worst performance in years. With 84.36% of the votes counted, the ruling party has 44.17%, while the opposition party of Peter Madjar Tisza has 30.09%. Madjar called the election the Waterloo of the Fidesz government and “the beginning of the end”.