PARIS (Reuters) -In a shock move, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he would dissolve parliament and call new legislative elections later this month after he was trounced in European elections by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party.
“Having carried out the consultation provided for in Article 12 of our constitution, I have decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future by voting,” Macron said in a televised national address.
“This is an essential time for clarification (…) I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered.”
Here are some reactions to the news:
FRENCH FAR-RIGHT LEADER MARINE LE PEN
“I can only welcome this decision, which is in keeping with the logic of the institutions of the 5th Republic.
“We are ready to take power if the French people have confidence in us in these forthcoming legislative elections. We are ready to put the country back on its feet. We are ready to defend the interests of the French people. We are ready to put an end to mass immigration. We are ready to make the purchasing power of the French people a priority, we are ready to start re-industrialising the country.”
POLISH PRIME MINISTER DONALD TUSK
“We have France, where President Macron had no choice but to dissolve the parliament because he suffered a dramatic electoral defeat to the national front… This is a lesson for us and a reason for all of us to be proud that things can be different in Poland. But this also puts more and more responsibility for the future of Europe on our shoulders.”
SANDRINE ROUSSEAU, SENIOR GREEN PARTY LAWMAKER IN FRENCH PARLIAMENT
“Emmanuel Macron is a poker player. We can see that tonight.”
FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER GERALD DARMANIN
“What the President of the Republic has done is to cut the Gordian knot, as a Gaullist, as a courageous person, as a humble person, and he turns to the voters, because in a democracy you always have to turn to the voters and appeal to their intelligence, and the voters are intelligent.”
RAPHAEL GLUCKSMANN, LEAD MEP CANDIDATE, FRANCE’S SOCIALIST PARTY
“Emmanuel Macron has given in to (National Rally President) Jordan Bardella. This is a very dangerous game to play with democracy and the institutions. I am flabbergasted.”
MANON AUBRY, LEAD CANDIDATE, FRANCE’S HARD-LEFT LFI PARTY
“The President of the Republic acknowledged his stinging defeat. We are not afraid of the people; we are ready to go on the campaign trail.”
VALERIE PECRESSE, SENIOR FIGURE IN THE CONSERVATIVE LR PARTY
“Dissolving without giving anyone time to organise and without any campaign is playing Russian roulette with the country’s destiny.”
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Tassilo Hummel and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by William Maclean and Lisa Shumaker)
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