French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday the dissolution of the National Assembly and the calling of early legislative elections following his party's heavy defeat in the European Parliament elections. In an address to the nation from the Élysée Palace, Macron stated: "I have decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. Therefore, I am dissolving the National Assembly." The elections will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7.

Macron's decision comes after early projected results in France placed the far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen ahead of Macron's pro-European centrists, according to French polling institutes. Le Pen's RN is estimated to have obtained 32.4% of the votes, according to an Ifop estimate for TF1 and Le Figaro. Macron acknowledged the scale of the electoral setback by saying: "I cannot act as if nothing happened." He added, "I have heard your messages, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered."

Early polls reflect a significant impact of far-right forces in the EU, although pro-European parties still retain the majority. In Spain, according to a Sigma Dos poll for RTVE—Forta, the PP has narrowly overtaken the PSOE in these European elections, while Vox has nearly doubled its results, obtaining between 6 and 7 seats. One of the surprises is the emergence of the Se Acabó La Fiesta (SALF) party, led by the ultra agitator Alvise Pérez, which could win up to three seats. Sumar would surpass Podemos, and Ciudadanos would disappear from the European Parliament.

In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has jumped to second place with 16.5% of the votes, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats and behind the conservative CDU/CSU party.

Macron's dissolution of the National Assembly is an attempt to reshape the French political landscape following the notable rise of the far-right in the European elections. With this move, Macron seeks to give new momentum to his legislative agenda and reaffirm his leadership at a critical moment for his administration.