Macron calls French legislative election after far-right win

Voters in France and Germany dealt a massive blow to their leaders in European Parliament elections Sunday, leading Emmanuel Macron to take the extreme decision to call a snap legislative ballot, which has the potential to throw the country into political chaos just as it’s set to host the Olympics.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won 32% support — in line with expectations — while Macron’s Renaissance party trailed with 15%, according to an estimate published Sunday by Ifop. The new election in the National Assembly would be for French lawmakers, which doesn’t affect who is president, meaning Macron’s position is not in question.

The euro fell as much as 0.3% to $1.0766 in early trading, its weakest in almost a month and under-performing its major developed peers. The move pares an almost 2% rally in the euro since mid-April as traders tempered bets of European Central Bank rate cuts this year. In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats crashed to their worst-ever result, falling behind both the opposition conservatives and far-right Alternative for Germany. Macron’s warnings about the rise of authoritarianism and appeal for European unity in the run-up to the vote failed to boost his result as concerns about inflation, security and immigration boosted nationalist support.

“I can’t pretend nothing has happened,” Macron said in a televised address Sunday night. “The challenges we face — be they external dangers, climate change and its consequences or threats to our unity — demand clarity in our debates, ambition for the country and respect for each and every French citizen.”

Around 360 million people in the European Union were eligible to vote in the European election, which will decide the 720 lawmakers in the parliament for the next five years. The assembly has limited powers, including adopting and amending E.U. legislative proposals and, importantly, voting on who will become the next European Commission president.

Ahead of the vote, Macron presented the European election as an existential fight for the continent and pivotal for Ukraine’s battle against Vladimir Putin. Now, he’s shifted the focus to France, where the first round of the new legislative election will be held on June 30, with a second round on July 7.