Into the void

Far-right gains in last weekend's EU polls sent shockwaves across the continent - and prompted Emmanuel Macron to call a high-risk snap election in France. Is Europe on the brink of a political earthquake?

- Angelique Chrisafis

Everyone is in total shock," said Baptiste Lopata, a radiologist, sitting in his trade union office in the small northern French town of Soissons. "Now we've all got to mobilise against the far right." When Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, far-right National Rally (RN) won a historic victory in the European elections last Sunday night, its highest scores were here, in the north-eastern department of L'Aisne, where it won over 50%, and even 60% in some rural villages, compared to a 31% score nationwide.

The far right's huge success was expected in this heartland area, which is ageing, underpopulated, has higher than average unemployment and poverty, and a history of factory closures.

Instead, the real shock was Emmanuel Macron's sudden decision to dissolve parliament and call a snap election.

Two years ago, Lopata's area of Soissons elected an RN member of parliament, José Beaurain, a professional piano-tuner who was the French national assembly's first blind MP since the war. Residents now feel that a snap election with the far right on an upwards trend, could see the party increase from its current 88 seats to more than 200.

The result of the sudden three-week election race is hard to predict. It could result in another hung parliament. But if the RN reached a 289-seat majority, Le Pen's popular 28-year-old protege Jordan Bardella would end up as prime minister with Macron remaining president for three more years, continuing to be in charge of defence and foreign policy, namely France's relationship with Nato and backing of Ukraine.