What is National Rally and could it take control of France after snap election?
Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that he intended to dissolve parliament and call for a snap election came as a shock on Sunday night.
The French president, who was been in power since 2017, said it was time for the country to have its say after his centrist Renaissance party suffered a calamitous result in the EU election.
What’s happened?
Mr Macron has called for a snap election to take place from later this month after being trounced in European Parliament elections by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
National Rally won about 32% of the vote in France – about twice as much as Mr Macron’s pro-European party that is projected to reach around 15%.
“I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote,” the president said while addressing France from the Elysee Palace.
“I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.”
Ms Le Pen and National Rally leader Jordan Bardella have welcomed upcoming elections. File pic: AP
He went on: “I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered.
“France needs a clear majority in order to act with serenity and harmony.”
The vote will take place in two rounds on 30 June and 7 July.
What is National Rally?
The National Rally is a nationalist and populist right-wing party, which has benefitted from the rise of the right across Europe.
Until 2018, it was known as the National Front but in a bid to improve its image it rebranded as Ms Le Pen worked to try and soften the party’s image and shake off long-standing accusations of racism and antisemitism.
Founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, Ms Le Pen’s father, today, the party is led by Jordan Bardella, a 28-year-old who has been fast-tracked to political leadership.
They are the single biggest opposition party with 88 MPs and are hoping to appeal to what they say are the people of France’s main concerns – immigration, the cost of living and crime.
National Rally takes a hard line on immigration, wanting to drastically curb it, and although it no longer wants to leave the EU, it has said it would reform it.
Despite softening in recent years, National Rally is still considered a far-right party whose ascent to power would change Europe noticeably.
How has National Rally reacted?
Ms Le Pen, who was widely seen as the frontrunner for the 2027 election in which Mr Macron is unable to stand, welcomed his decision.
“We are ready to take power if the French people have confidence in us in these forthcoming legislative elections,” she said.
“We are ready to put the country back on its feet.”
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Read more:
Europe decides – how will election shape continent politics?
National Rally’s lead candidate for the EU election and Ms Le Pen’s protege, Jordan Bardella, is only 28.
But he immediately took on a presidential tone with his victory speech in Paris.
Mr Bardella, who is also the party’s president, addressed his “dear compatriots” and went on to say: “The French people have given their verdict, and it’s final.”
What does this mean for the French president?
Mr Macron could be forced into ‘cohabitation’. Pic: Reuters
Mr Macron is taking a big risk with the snap vote (it was 1997 when the country last had one) and could be seen as a move that could backfire and increase the chances of Ms Le Pen eventually taking power.
If his party ends up losing, Mr Macron – who in the last recorded week had a mere 21% approval rating, according to Morning Consult – may be forced into “cohabitation”.
It’s a term used in France to refer to a president having to stand alongside a prime minister from an opposing party.
What do the parties stand for?
Mr Macron has been advocating for Europe-wide efforts to defend Ukraine and the need for the EU to boost its own defences and industry.
Mr Bardella wants to limit free movement of migrants by carrying out national border controls and dial back EU climate rules.
The party no longer wants to leave the EU and the euro, but aims to weaken it from within.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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