France's Macron calls a snap legislative election after defeat in EU vote

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap legislative election after his party suffered a heavy defeat in elections for the European Parliament, The Associated Press reports.

In an address to the nation from the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said: “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.”

The vote will take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said.

The far-right National Rally is projected to win the European election in France with 31.5 percent of the vote — more than twice that of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, which scored only 15.2 percent in the EU election.