"I am dissolving this evening the National Assembly. I will soon sign a decree to hold new parliamentary elections, the first round of which will be held on June 30 and the second on July 7," Macron said in a video address to the French.
The announcement came after the first data from the exit polls showed that Macron's Renaissance party had received only 15.2% of the votes in the European Parliament elections. Meanwhile, the French right-wing National Rally (Rassemblement National) party is leading with 31.5% of the votes.
Marine Le Pen, the National Rally's former president and the current chairwoman of its parliamentary faction, welcomed Macron’s decision. She said, addressing the party supporters, that the National Rally was ready to take power as a result of the upcoming snap parliamentary elections and ready to "put an end to this mass immigration, to make purchasing power a priority, ready to revive France."