President’s move viewed as ‘Russian roulette’ after far-right support reached record high in European elections

France’s prime minister, Gabriel Attal, stared ahead with his arms folded while another minister covered his face with his hands as Emmanuel Macron gathered top government figures at the Élysée last Sunday to make the shock announcement that he would dissolve parliament and call a snap legislative election in the wake of a win at the polls by Marine Le Pen’s party. The mood, said Attal, was “grave”.

One senior centrist figure said this week they had not slept properly since the announcement of a campaign that will be the shortest in modern French history at barely three weeks. Some party supporters said their world had been turned upside down. “We’re going to get out there and do our best,” said a government minister.

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Macron is now speaking about economic goals.

Speaking at a press conference, Emmanuel Macron said that in Sunday’s vote in the European election citizens have expressed their concerns and difficulties. We must bring a democratic response, he said.

Returning to the sovereign people is, in my opinion, the only republican decision in this context.

Do we think that (Republicans party leader) Mr. Ciotti - and The Republicans who follow him - who up until now explained that the ruling majority was too lax and that we needed to rein in our public spending faster, would govern effectively with the (far-right) National Rally, whose program has been independently costed at about 100 billion euros a year for our taxpayers?

We must, first and foremost, continue relentlessly to act for greater security and (state) firmness, and implement the laws that have been passed, like our European texts, to reduce illegal immigration.