Scholz 'concerned' about possible far-right election win in France
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Following the poor performance of Macron's party in the European Parliament elections, he dissolved the National Assembly and called for a snap legislative election.
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A damaged election poster shows German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Frankfurt, Germany on June 10, 2024. (AP)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday he was "concerned" about the far-right's potential win in France's next legislative elections.
President Emmanuel Macron's party is lagging severely with less than two weeks until the first round of snap elections, which he called in reaction to the extreme right's thrashing in European polls.
During an annual summer interview for ARD, Scholz expressed he was "concerned about the elections in France," explaining that he hoped "parties that are not (Marine) Le Pen, to put it that way, are successful in the election. But that is for the French people to decide."
According to opinion surveys, Macron's ruling alliance will finish third in the parliamentary elections on June 30 (with a second round on July 7), trailing Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) and a new left-wing alliance.
This might make RN leader Jordan Bardella France's future prime minister, but the 28-year-old has stated that he will only accept it if his party and allies win a clear majority of seats.
Earlier this month, Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for a snap legislative election following his group's poor performance in the European Parliament elections. The first round of voting is scheduled for June 30, with the second round set for July 7.
Scholz's comments could be due to his fear that the far-right party is making progress in European elections, as Germany's far-right AfD party scored gains in last month's European Parliament elections, while Scholz's government coalition suffered.
Le Pen support surges in polls as Macron faces approval drop
Support for Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party is increasing ahead of the French legislative elections, as per a poll released on Friday.
A separate poll released on Friday revealed that Macron's approval rating dropped by six points to 26%, matching the lowest level recorded in the survey series conducted by BVA Xsight for RTL. Macron's popularity previously reached this low in April 2023 and before that in late 2018.
The IFOP-Fiducial poll for Sud Radio revealed that 38% of respondents expressed a preference for the National Rally to win, marking a two-point rise from June 10, which followed Macron's announcement of a snap election.
In a poll conducted on June 18 and 19 by IFOP, an alliance of left parties known as the New Popular Front held second place with 29% support, unchanged from previous polling. Support for Macron's party and its allies increased to 22% from 18%.
The survey of 1,500 adults indicated a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points. Notably, respondents were asked who they preferred to see win rather than whom they intended to vote for.
