French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would dissolve the lower house of Parliament in response to a massive loss in EU elections (Jacques Paquier, Wikimedia Commons)
French Parliament Dissolved After Macron Defeated in EU Vote
Following a defeat by significant margins against the far right in the European elections Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower house of France’s parliament. This decision will send voters back to the polls in the coming weeks to choose lawmakers, taking place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7.
This announcement came on the heels of the projection that Marine Le Pen, a candidate from the far-right National Rally Party, would receive between 31 and 32 percent of the vote, which nearly doubled the 15 percent projected allocation of votes for Macarons Renaissance Party. While Macron himself was not a candidate in this election, and his presidency remains intact for the remaining 3 years of his term, he declared the projection to be “serious” and believes his move, although risky, will allow for an improved shot of advancing the parties advocacy for Europe-wide responses to the war in Ukraine and the improvement of EU defense and industry.
The National Rally Party was reported to welcome Macron’s move, viewing it as a possibility for more rapid adoption of the party’s policy goals, which include stricter border enforcement, as well as a decrease in EU climate regulations and rules. While the group originally advocated for leaving the EU, the primary goal of the party as it stands now is to weaken the EU’s structure from within. One can only observe as we wait to see the results of Macron’s move following the coming elections.
Former President Trump’s Appearance in Arizona Post Trial
Former President Donald Trump recently became the first president of the United States to be convicted of felony charges. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, but he has hardly let the conviction slow or stunt his campaign, instead using it as fuel. On Thursday, Trump held his first post-trial rally in the state of Arizona and wasted no time in addressing the crowd regarding his conviction. He was quoted as saying, “Those appellate courts have to step up and straighten things out or we’re not going to have a country anymore,” which has been interpreted as a demand for the appeals court of New York to overturn his felony conviction.
The state of Arizona has consistently remained a key battleground state, and though the state was won by current President Joe Biden in 2020, it is possible that Trump’s post-trial rally remarks were strategically made in an attempt to reassert his credibility to Arizona Republicans. The state has been politically contentious for quite some time, as evidenced by the commissioned recount in 2020, and criminal charges being brought against those refusing to certify the 2022 midterm election results. As it stands, Trump’s actions in Arizona may prove to be a game changer in the campaign, as only time will tell if Republican voters will continue to trust a felon candidate, or will turn against their once beloved party star.
Sources & Further Reading
French Government in Shambles After Macron Defeated in EU Vote Additional Reading
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv22jkmldlxo
Former President Trump's Appearances Post Trial
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-charges-conviction-guilty-verdict/
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