Far rights gains in polls spook leaders of France and Germany

Gains by the far-right in voting for the European Parliament on June 9th prompted a frail French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap national election and added uncertainty to Europe’s future political direction.

The vote could augur more tensions between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean and the hardening of EU policies on migration, Islam and security issues, given that far right MEPs hold around a quarter of all the seats.

While the centre, liberal and Socialist parties were set to retain a majority in the 720-seat parliament, the vote dealt a domestic blow to the leaders of both France and Germany, raising questions about the impact of the vote on Europe’s policies on immigration and relations with the Arab world.

Agencies