After the announcement of the results of the European elections, Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and the holding of new legislative elections in June and July 2024. A risky decision which delighted the National Rally, winner of the European vote.
The essential
- “I have decided to dissolve the National Assembly” announced Emmanuel Macron on the evening of June 9 after the publication of the first results of the European elections which gave the National Rally the big winner of the vote.
- The dissolution of the Assembly calls for new legislative elections to form the future hemicycle. The French will therefore be called to the polls again on Sundays June 30 and July 7.
- After the announcement of the organization of new legislative elections, the majority assured that it will not present candidates against the outgoing deputies “from the Republican arc” insisting on the objective of blocking the extreme right.
- The opposition reacted strongly to the announcement of legislative news accusing Emmanuel Macron of giving the far right a chance to come to power. The left-wing forces are calling for a “united rally”, even a “popular front” against the far right, while the representatives of Reconquest are campaigning for a union of the rights. The Republicans, for their part, refuse to go along with the majority as much as with the extreme right.
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07:56 – Reconquest calls for “the broadest union of the rights”
“We must have the intelligence to do in the national camp what Mélenchon did in the left camp” launched Eric Zemmour, the boss of Reconquête, after the announcement of the organization of legislative elections calling on the parties LR and RN to form “the largest union of the rights”.
07:51 – The left united under a common banner in the legislative elections?
“Discussions have taken place and will continue to take place” between the different left-wing forces, indicated the First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, at the microphone of Franceinfo. The politician in turn calls for a gathering of the left but under a banner and a program that unites, without necessarily forcing all the forces to align with each other. As of yesterday evening, Olivier Faure called on “everyone to think about the best conditions for a gathering which allows us to have a project, which allows us to be heard by the French”. He recalled in passing the evolution of the balance of power within the left after the victory of the PS – Public Place alliance behind Raphaël Glucksmann’s list.
07:40 – Macron trusts the French to make “the fairest choice” in the legislative elections
He announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and therefore the organization of new legislative elections in 2024, last night. This Monday morning, the day after the victory of the National Rally in the European elections, Emmanuel Macron declares that he “trusts” the French to “make the fairest choice for himself and for the generations” in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter .
Legislative elections will be held on June 30 and July 7.
I have confidence in the ability of the French people to make the fairest choice for themselves and for future generations.
My only ambition is to be useful to our country that I love so much.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 10, 2024
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A few minutes after the announcement of the first estimates of the results of the European elections this Sunday, June 9, Emmanuel Macron spoke from the Elysée. The head of state, in a rare presidential address on election night, announced his decision to dissolve the National Assembly. “This decision is serious, heavy. It is above all an act of trust. I trust the French people to make the fairest choice for themselves and for future generations. Trust between our democracy, let the word be spoken given to the sovereign people, nothing is more republican,” explained the head of state.
“I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” he added. By this decision, and the appeal to article 12 of the Constitution of the 5th Republic, Emmanuel Macron has de facto recorded the organization of next legislative elections aimed at composing a new Assembly.
There will therefore be new elections in 2024 in France! And they will arrive quickly, very quickly since the Constitution provides for new elections within 20 to 40 days following the dissolution. The President of the Republic has therefore already confirmed the date of this new election. The first round of these 2024 legislative elections will be held on Sunday June 30, followed by the second round a week later on Sunday July 7, 2024.
An express campaign
The submission of candidatures marking the start of the campaign will take place very quickly since the campaign must begin on the second Monday preceding the vote. Which takes us to Monday June 17! The campaign is bound to be extremely fast with only two weeks leading up to the first round of voting on June 30, 2024.
Will these new legislative elections lead to a recomposition of the French political landscape? The previous legislative elections were held in spring 2022, following the re-election of Emmanuel Macron as President of the Republic. They produced a disappointing score for the presidential party which was unable to obtain an absolute majority, forcing it to deal with an opposition reinforced by the scores of the National Rally but also the new NUPES alliance. The Nupes had thus obtained 131 seats, the National Rally 89 seats of deputies and the Republicans 61 against 245 seats for Ensemble, the former name of the party of the presidential majority.
Immediately after the presidential address this Sunday, June 9, the main political representatives shared their reactions. “The president, responding to Jordan Bardella’s call, announced the dissolution of the National Assembly,” proclaimed Marine Le Pen, recalling that the leader of the RN had called for the dissolution shortly after his victory. “I can only welcome this decision which is in line with the logic of the institutions of the 5th republic. We are ready to exercise power if the French trust us. We are ready to restore the country,” explained the former -candidate for the presidential election.
On the left, interviewed on TF1, Raphaël Glucksmann, who led the PS-PP list in the European elections, took note and assured that “we will lead the fight because we will never resolve the arrival of the extreme right”. On BFM TV, Jean-Luc Mélenchon also reacted, judging that the President of the Republic “was right to dissolve because he no longer has any legitimacy to pursue his own policy”.