The “clarification” President Emmanuel Macron invoked as he called France’s snap elections has clarified this much: that French voters no longer want him to govern alone – or indeed at all. Exactly who he should share power with remains an open question after an inconclusive first round that has handed Marine Le Pen’s far right a commanding win, but not yet a decisive one. 

The overconfident president got what was coming when his party suffered a massive defeat in the first round of the national election

Hundreds of protesters have set off flares and started fires on the streets of a major European city after a far-right party won big gains.

Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant National Rally led a first round of voting on Sunday in exceptionally high-stakes elections that could put France’s government in the hands of a far-right party for the first time since World War II. President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling coalition was beaten into third place by a fledgling alliance of the left as the incumbent’s gamble with a snap election backfired spectacularly.

Runaway budget deficits and confrontation with Brussels and Berlin is a formula for trouble

With a charismatic blend of youthful vigour and strategic communication, far-right leader Jordan Bardella has captivated millions on social media, a sign of the "Bardella mania" that has swept through France’s younger demographic. At just 28, Bardella's ascent to the top of the National Rally party formerly led by Marine Le Pen and Macron's call for snap legislative elections may well pave the road to the prime minister's office. 

France is planning to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to around 600 troops in line with President Emmanuel Macron's plans to limit the French military footprint in the region, three sources told AFP.

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudéa-Castéra on Monday hailed a statement by football superstar Kylian Mbappé urging voters not to back political extremes in the upcoming snap elections as exemplary. The backing came as Spain's goalkeeper suggested Monday that it was not the French captain's place to speak up "against extremes and divisive ideas" ahead of general elections. 

A Paris court ruled on Friday to overturn an earlier decision by France's conservative Republicans party to expel Eric Ciotti as the party chief, said Ciotti, in a move that could boost the far-right National Rally party ahead of parliament elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he had called legislative elections in a bid to prevent the far right from winning the presidency in 2027 when his second and final term ends. He called on all French parties “able to say no to extremes” to unite ahead of the snap elections he announced after his centre-right alliance took a humiliating beating in the European Parliament vote on Sunday.

The leader of France's main right-wing party on Tuesday said he backed an alliance with the far right of Marine Le Pen in snap legislative elections, triggering a crisis within his own party and fury from the government.