The resounding victory of the Rassemblement National in the European elections on 9 July and the fact that the governing Renaissance party only received half as many votes as the right-wing populists led President Emmanuel Macron to the decision to dissolve the National Assembly on the evening of the election and announce new elections to be held on 30 June and 7 July. The parties had until 16 June just one week, to draw up their electoral lists and form possible electoral alliances. The early parliamentary elections, which will be held in two rounds, will be a nail biter for Macron, who is playing high stakes and gambling with his own political fate. France is in danger of reaching an impasse for the next legislative period. The scenario of cohabitation seems very realistic in view of current poll results. Europe would then be faced with a right-wing populist prime minister in one of the founding states of the EU. The Franco-German engine would stutter even more.
