Following his party’s decisive loss to the far-right National Rally in the recent European parliamentary election, French President Emmanuel Macron shocked everyone by dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap election. He justified his decision by claiming that an election would “clarify” the political situation, but many of his compatriots did not share this view.
Even those who do not fear that Macron’s gamble will bring the far right fully to power are anxious about the chaos that might ensue. As Edouard Philippe, Macron’s prime minister from 2017 to 2020, put it, the president has needlessly “killed the presidential majority.” A hung parliament with National Rally as the largest party is now the most likely outcome after the first round of voting on Sunday.
Still, Macron’s decision has clarified one thing: His strategy to create a powerful centrism in France has failed. Other European leaders should take note.