Macron's great gamble: Why did French president dissolve parliament? What if his party loses?

Following the resurgence of right-wing political groups in the recently-held European Union elections, French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday (June 9) took a bold step and dissolved the parliament. It means snap legislative elections will be held in the country on June 30 and July 7, and in the worst-case scenario, he may have to appoint a prime minister from the opposition.

Why Macron dissolved the parliament

In the European elections, Macron's centrist party Renaissance suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of right-wing leader Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party. As per projections, Renaissance got between 14.8 per cent and 15.2 per cent of the votes whereas Rally got 32 per cent-33 per cent support.

Watch:EU election results: Setbacks for Macron in France, Scholz in Germany

Macron has consistently backed the European Union, a position disputed by right wingers. The discontent comes over a range of issues like immigration, crime and the cost of living.

By calling snap elections, Macron wants to give Marine Le Pen's party a seat in the government so that she loses some of the lustre by 2027, when the next presidential polls take place.

A defeat in the parliamentary elections would mean the prime minister will be appointed from Marine Le Pen's party. Then, the new PM will choose France's cabinet minister. This situation is known as cohabitation.

What if Macron loses elections?

If Macron's party loses parliamentary elections, he will lose the power to set domestic policies and get confined to the lead role of defence as commander-in-chief and on foreign policy.

It's highly likely that Marine Le Pen’s 28-year-old protege and leader of the National Rally Jordan Bardella can take up the role of PM, with Pen eyeing the 2027 presidential elections.

Marine Le Pen’s reaction

Marine Le Pen welcomed Macron's decision to call the snap elections.

"We’re ready for it,” she declared.

“We’re ready to exercise power if the French people place their trust in us in these future legislative elections. We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration, ready to make the purchasing power of the French a priority,” Le Pen added.

(With inputs from agencies)