Future Timeline

French President Macron calls early parliamentary election after far-right wins country's EU vote

(Axios) Europe's far right gained historic ground in continent-wide elections Sunday, with devastating losses forcing French President Emmanuel Macron to concede that the threat from nationalists could no longer be ignored.

• The center held in some countries, but a surge by the radical right — especially in Germany — has put pro-democracy parties on notice.

Why it matters: Macron stunned Europe last night by announcing he would hold new legislative elections later this month — three years early, and in the middle of preparations for the Paris Olympics.

• The extraordinary gamble came moments after European Parliament exit polls pointed to a dominant showing by Marine Le Pen's National Rally and major gains for other far-right parties across Europe.

• "The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe," Macron said. "After this day, I cannot go on as though nothing has happened."

(Common Dreams) France's left-of-center parties announced on Thursday a new alliance aimed at countering both the ultranationalism of Marine Le Pen and the neoliberalism of President Emmanuel Macron in parliamentary elections that Macron called unexpectedly on Sunday.

The new alliance, called the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), formed following days of intense negotiations as several parties, most notably the center-left Parti Socialiste (PS) and the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI), joined forces to put forth a common platform and avoid competing candidates in races for the 577 seats in the National Assembly.

NFP leaders said they wanted to create a bulwark against the Rassemblement National (RN), Le Pen's far-right party that is leading in the polls.
"We are going to extinguish the flame of the RN," said Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of Les Écologistes, one of the NFP parties, according to The Associated Press. "It's either us or them.

The new alliance also announced a push for a "total break" from Macron's policies, such as raising the retirement age.