PARIS – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Sunday that President Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call for snap legislative elections could backfire and plunge the country into chaos.
Macron called for the snap vote, to be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, after his centrist alliance was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in the European Parliament ballot held last Sunday.
Sarkozy, the conservative former president who served from 2007 to 2012 and remains an influential political figure, expressed concern that the dissolution of the assembly might lead to chaos. He made these remarks in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.
“Giving the floor to the French people to justify the dissolution is a curious argument since this is precisely what more than 25 million French people have just done at the polls,” Sarkozy said, referencing the European elections on June 9. “The risk is great they confirm their anger rather than reverse it.”
A poll conducted on Saturday appeared to support Sarkozy’s concerns. The OpinionWay-Vae Solis poll for Les Echos and Radio Classique forecast that RN would lead in the first round of the parliamentary election with 33% of the vote, ahead of the Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing parties, with 25%. Macron’s centrist camp was predicted to receive 20%.
On Saturday, thousands marched in Paris and cities across France to protest against the far-right National Rally (RN) ahead of the upcoming elections.