In the immediate aftermath of the defeat, the president called a snap election that triggered dismay within his own camp.
The far-right National Rally finished first in the European Parliament election in France with 31.4 percent of the vote — more than double the 14.6 percent received by Macron’s party. While the polls ahead of the vote had predicted big wins for the far right, many within Macron’s camp still hoped for a last-minute rallying of centrist voters.
“Of course I was hit [by the defeat]. So I thought, we must absolutely ask the French again to clarify their choice and show them that we have heard them,” Macron said.
G7 leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are attending the summit in Puglia, where they agreed to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral. The move, several leaders said, was meant to send a strong message of support to Kyiv, even as the political landscape in many G7 countries looks set to shift to the right.
During a skydiving display at the resort, Macron was seen joking with the U.K.’s Rishi Sunak, who also faces an election in July that polls predict he will lose. Later on Thursday evening, Macron appeared alone at a dinner, hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, which included spouses.
The French president also pushed back vigorously against any suggestion that France’s support for the G7 loan plan had been upended by his decision to call the snap election. The far-right National Rally, which looks set to get a lot more seats in the French parliament, has been ambivalent on military support for Ukraine.
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