Surprise election puts Macron at great risk

Marine Le Pen's National Rally achieved a significant victory in the European Parliament election, leading President Emmanuel Macron to announce early parliamentary elections later this month.

Many people think the far-right party will win, with 32% of the vote—more than twice as many votes as the president's Renaissance party.

He said the two rounds of voting would take place on June 30 and July 7, just a few weeks before the Paris Olympics. The dissolution of parliament followed this.

In a bold and unexpected move, Mr. Macron made the announcement live on TV from the Élysée Palace an hour after the EU elections in France were over and the exit polls were closed.

Not long before he made his choice, Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of National Rally, had publicly asked the president to call for elections for the house.

"I have heard your message," the president told the people of France, "and I will not let it go without a response."

He said, "France needs a clear majority in peace and harmony." He also said he couldn't accept the rise of the far right "everywhere in the continent."

Just two years into his second term as president, Mr. Macron already has yet to have a majority in the French parliament.

This European vote doesn't affect French politics in theory, but it's clear that he decided that continuing his term without a new vote by the people would put too much stress on the system.

Parliamentary elections will be held soon, but they differ from presidential elections. Mr. Macron still has three more years as president, so that they won't affect his job either.

Mr. Macron has beaten Ms. Le Pen in two presidential races. She responded right away by saying that her party was "ready to exercise power, ready to put an end to mass immigration."

When President Macron calls an early poll, the country is in for a big surprise. He is also taking a considerable risk.

He could have done something different. He could have kept talking and said that the far right's massive win in Europe was just a fluke that would be fixed in more critical elections.

Before the Paris Olympics and the European Football Championship in Germany, he could have relied on these events to distract people from politics for a few months.

The outcome was very close to the polls, so he would have had plenty of time to consider his choices.

Getting any bill through the National Assembly without a majority is already challenging. Now that it's clear that most people in the country are against him, any new laws, like the future budget, could have gone wrong.

He chose "clarity" because of this. He says that the National Rally should be able to run the government if they have the votes.

The president hopes his own Renaissance party will do well in the June 30 and July 7 polls. He may also hope that other parties do better.

But he must know that the odds are still in National Rally's favour. It might not have won a vast majority like on Sunday, but it did win enough to become the largest party in government.

Marine Le Pen or even Jordan Bardella could be Prime Minister then.