What the European results and the surge of the far right tell us

At past EU leaders’ summits in Brussels, Macron was sometimes accused of trying to steal the spotlight.

He certainly did that on Sunday night. Although maybe not the way he wanted it to be.

Mr Macron dominated the headlines as votes for the European Parliament were still being counted.

His crushing defeat in the polls among France’s far-right nationalists was expected. He therefore decided to dissolve the French National Assembly, Shocking.

He considered the idea last year after his crushing defeat in France’s last election, but few now expect him to take the measure.

It’s a huge gamble. Start from a weak position.

Emmanuel Macron describes himself as a centrist and passionate European.

The snap election will be held in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7, which could result in him having to work with a French prime minister from the Eurosceptic far-right.

Marine Le Pen, often portrayed as his political rival, announced on Sunday that her party was ready to govern.

In France, there used to be a situation where the president and the prime minister, who were the most powerful politicians in the country, came from different parties.

But it would be a first for France if the new prime minister comes from the far right.

Marine Le Pen has worked in recent years to broaden the appeal of her political movement and soften her extremist image.

She and her supporters hope that this major victory at EU level – her National Rally party received more than twice as many votes as President Macron’s Ennahda party – will translate into a huge victory in snap elections at home.

Her dream is that these successes will take her or her popular talent, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, a big step towards eventually becoming president of France – something she has tried many times before but failed to achieve. Unfulfilled goals. France’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2027.

The far-right and nationalist right made gains in many parts of the EU in this European Parliament election, with voters worried about immigration, inflation and the cost of environmental reforms.

But whether they can actually influence future EU policy is unclear.

The majority of seats in the EU Parliament, where EU laws are debated, changed, passed or rejected, remain firmly in the hands of centrist parties.

To influence EU policy, far-right parties across the EU must join forces to give them influence.

This is a challenge. They have different national priorities and some deep-seated differences, such as how much to support Ukraine against Russia.

Environmental reform is an issue that affects the lives of all EU citizens, and one that the far right has influenced. It’s a multi-trillion-euro priority for the EU, which has long had ambitions to become a world leader in climate action.

But the Green Party lost as many as 20 seats in this EU Parliament vote.

EU taxpayers facing a cost-of-living crisis are growing nervous and even resisting new environmental rules, putting them under pressure to buy new heating systems for their homes or less-polluting cars.

Farmers across the European Union have staged massive protests against environmental rules they see as unfair and damaging.

The hard right across Europe has clearly exploited their dissatisfaction to portray themselves as the voice of the people, standing up to the “remote elites” in Brussels and national governments.

The result: Under pressure ahead of the EU parliamentary vote, many EU environmental regulations were watered down or scrapped, including one regulating pesticides. The nerf of the green target is likely a sign of things to come.

One final thought: When trying to make firm predictions about what power the nationalist right will or will not wield in the EU in the future, labels tend not to be that helpful.

Some far-right nationalists are becoming more mainstream to attract more voters, and a growing number of center-right politicians are parroting far-right language on hot-button issues such as immigration and the environment in an attempt to retain supporters.

Overall, the center-right won the most seats and made the most progress in the European Parliament.

You probably won’t see this title very often, though. It is less dramatic than the debate over far-right gains.