What is National Rally and could it take control of France after snap election?

Published

11 months ago

June 10, 2024

admin

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.”

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.”

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 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

‘Good chance’ of Russia-Ukraine peace but US has a red line in talks, says Donald Trump

Published

4 hours ago

May 20, 2025

admin

'Good chance' of Russia-Ukraine peace but US has a red line in talks, says Donald Trump

Donald Trump has said there is a “good chance” of peace between Russia and Ukraine – but added the US has a red line in upcoming talks.

After a two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin, the US president announced on Monday that Russia–Ukraine discussions will begin “immediately”.

It is unclear how these will differ from negotiations that already started in Turkey last Friday.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, Mr Trump said he does have a red line on when he’ll stop pushing Moscow and Kyiv for peace – but would not say what it is.

There are “big egos involved”, he said before adding: “This was a European situation, it should have remained a European situation.”

The US president also claimed he asked Mr Putin on their call: “When are we going to end this bloodbath?”

He said of the Russian president: “I do believe he wants to end [the war].”

“My whole life is deals, one big deal, and if I thought that President Putin did not want to get this over with, I wouldn’t even be talking about it because I’d just pull out,” he added.

The US president spoke to his Russian counterpart on Monday as part of a bid to push the two countries towards agreeing a truce in the war.

In a Truth Social post, published shortly after the call, Mr Trump said Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.

Mr Trump continued: “Russia wants to do large-scale trade with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is unlimited.”

Ukraine “can be a great beneficiary on trade, in the process of rebuilding its country”, he said.

The Vatican “has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations”, Mr Trump added. He signed off his post with: “Let the process begin!”

A Russia-Ukraine ceasefire is the one deal Trump can’t seem to seal

For the war that Donald Trump said he’d solve in a day, read the war he couldn’t solve at all.

By posting on Truth Social that an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be negotiated between the two parties, the US president puts distance between himself and the deal he couldn’t seal.

The United States appears to be taking a step back from its stewardship of negotiations, as it leaves both sides to it.

The broker broken? For Trump, certainly, this has been a most intractable negotiation that he has never looked like closing.

He mentions “ceasefire” in his social media post only as a discussion for Russia and Ukraine, not as the call he made for an unconditional cessation of hostilities.

There’s no mention of the frustrations he once threatened at intensive Russian bombing, or of the sanctions he once threatened against Moscow.

Far from it, he speaks of “large-scale trade with the United States when this bloodbath is over”.

He adds that Ukraine can be a trade beneficiary from the country’s rebuilding.

In Kyiv and allied European capitals, they were looking for strong-armed support from Washington.

European leaders had called Trump the day before he spoke to Putin to discuss sanctions and to reinforce their need for US support in steering the Russian leader towards serious engagement.

They will be making further calls to the White House to clarify where they stand now, for fear they stand alone.

Ukraine was never a pet project of Donald Trump.

In his ambitions to reshape the world order, restored relations with Russia has always been a prize as he eyes China as adversary-in-chief.

In the bigger picture, Ukraine has always been a small feature. It shows.

Mr Putin found the call “informative, frank and very useful”, Russian news agency RIA reported.

“A ceasefire in the situation in Ukraine for a certain period of time is possible if appropriate agreements are reached,” the Russian leader reportedly said.

Discussions are ‘positive,’ says Zelenskyy

The US president spoke separately to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various European leaders.

At a briefing after the day’s calls had taken place, Ukraine’s leader said he told Mr Trump that Russia “might propose some particularly difficult conditions” for a ceasefire – which could be “a sign that it is the Russian side that is unwilling to end the war”.

“I think we are still discussing the very possibility of strong and severe sanctions [on Russia],” he continued. “I don’t yet have an answer to that question.”

Kyiv is considering the possibility of a meeting between “high-level” teams from Ukraine, the US, Russia and some European countries, Mr Zelenskyy said, describing the talks on Monday as “positive”.

He continued: “Such a meeting could take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland. We are currently considering these three venues, as all three countries – all three venues – are neutral.”

European leaders and Ukraine have demanded Russia agree to a ceasefire immediately, and Mr Trump has focused on getting Mr Putin to commit to a 30-day truce. The Russian president has resisted that, insisting that conditions be met first.

The Trump-Putin call came as Russia has continued to target Ukraine with attacks.

Moscow on Monday claimed its forces have taken two villages in Ukraine, according to state news agency RIA.

Russia recently began pushing into the Sumy region after claiming it had ousted Kyiv’s forces from Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region.

RIA cited the defence ministry as saying Novoolenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, and Marine, in Sumy, have now been taken by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 112 drones over various parts of the country overnight, killing two people and leaving another 13 injured.

On Sunday, Kyiv officials said Russia had launched the largest drone attack of the war so far by firing 273 explosives into Ukraine over the course of Saturday night into the following morning.

World

Israel to allow ‘basic quantity of food’ into Gaza to avoid ‘starvation crisis’

Published

19 hours ago

May 19, 2025

admin

Israel to allow 'basic quantity of food' into Gaza to avoid 'starvation crisis'

Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.

Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.

It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.

The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.

“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.

“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”

It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.

Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

World

Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Published

1 day ago

May 18, 2025

admin

Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.

Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.

According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.

After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.

Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”

Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.

The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.

An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.

Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.

He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.

The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.

After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.

“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.

“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”