Macron gambles on snap election
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
France’s President Macron plays political poker after a thumping in the European elections, gambling on snap elections for the national parliament. And as the far right makes gains across much – if not all – of Europe, we ask, where next for the European Union?
Also in the programme: as the US secretary of state begins his latest Middle East tour, what's changed in Israel? And the widow of the Islamic State leader says she couldn't stop her husband's crimes.
(IMAGE: Supporters watch French President Emmanuel Macron's speech on a large screen at the electoral party after the announcement of the results of the European Parliamentary elections in Paris, France, 09 June 2024 / CREDIT: Christophe Petit-Tesson / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to News Hour it's coming to you live from the BBC World Service |
| 0:06.8 | studios in Central London I'm Tim Franks. Sometimes and I speak as a former |
| 0:12.2 | Europe correspondent for the BBC, the elections to the European Parliament |
| 0:17.4 | could be a bit of a hard sell, persuading people why they're important. |
| 0:21.3 | Well, not so the elections whose results came out overnight. |
| 0:25.0 | They have caused waves across Europe and nowhere more so than in France where the stunning |
| 0:30.2 | success for the hard writers led to the big shock and that was the |
| 0:34.3 | decision of the French president Emmanuel Macron to call a snap parliamentary |
| 0:38.4 | election. His own Renaissance party was trounced by a national rally |
| 0:42.4 | the group led by the veteran anti-immigrant |
| 0:44.7 | nationalist Maureen Le Penh, now seen as the leading contender to take the presidency of |
| 0:49.5 | France in 2027. |
| 0:51.5 | She was exultant. |
| 0:55.0 | The French have spoken and this historic election shows that when the people vote, the people |
| 1:00.9 | win, by giving more than 32% to the national rally the French |
| 1:05.3 | have just given us the highest score. All parties combine in 40 years. It's a real |
| 1:11.1 | emotion to see this beautiful popular force rising up throughout a country. |
| 1:16.0 | Given that, President Macron's move to dissolve the National Assembly and hold elections in just three weeks |
| 1:22.0 | is widely seen as a massive gamble. |
| 1:24.8 | This is how explained his decision on French TV last night. |
| 1:28.2 | I have decided to give you the choice for our parliamentary future by giving you a vote. |
| 1:37.6 | I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly tonight. |
... |
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