Macron dissolves French National Assembly and calls snap election

French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly on 9 June 2024 and called an early legislative election. He announced the decision shortly after European Parliament estimates showed Marine Le Pen's National Rally winning roughly twice the support of Macron's list in France.

The French constitution gives the president power to dissolve the lower house after consultations with the prime minister and parliamentary leaders. The decision ended the existing legislature and set two rounds of voting for 30 June and 7 July. It did not dissolve the Senate or end Macron's presidential term.

Macron said voters should clarify the country's parliamentary direction. Supporters and critics disagreed sharply about the risk of enabling a far-right government. Those forecasts were political assessments, not outcomes settled at the moment of dissolution.

France's two-round constituency system encourages alliances and withdrawals between rounds. European election results use a different nationwide proportional system and therefore could not mechanically predict National Assembly seats.

The presidential decree and address establish the event. This item records the constitutional gamble, separate from the later election result and government formation. It avoids describing a response to one election as though it automatically reproduced that vote under a different system.

The outgoing Assembly had no absolute majority for Macron's alliance, and dissolution was constitutionally available once a year. Legal availability does not decide whether its political use was prudent; that judgment belongs to voters and later institutional outcomes.