Europe rocked by far-right gains

THE far right had long been expected to do well in last week’s European Parliament election. However, the results released on Sunday (Jun 9) have shown even more striking gains than many expected.

The gains were so strong in France for the far-right Rassemblement National party – which won 31.4 per cent of the vote, more than double the vote share of Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance – that the president called a snap election for the domestic National Assembly.

This extraordinary gamble will see a first round of the parliamentary elections held in just three weeks on Jun 30, with a run-off on Jul 7. It is plausible the far right could also make big gains in that ballot, with the outside possibility that Macron’s chief political opponent, Marine Le Pen, could become prime minister.