Macron's decision to call snap election opens France to the potential for a far-right government or a hung parliament. Both these outcomes will generate instability in the EU.
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Following Macron's snap election, a Rassemblement National led government could control the Matignon, with dramatic impact on the EU. What would such a regime look like? Would it tack towards the line of Giorgia Meloni in Italy, or reflect the views of EU contrarians, such as Viktor Orban and Geert Wilders? How would it reverberate on Brussels?
Whatever such a regime looks like, there will likely be conflicts between the president and the prime minister, weakening France's clout in Brussels at a key moment of change in the Brussels institutions. These are some of the questions Macron's bombshell election announcement has left echoing in Brussels, which Radio Schuman discussed with political analyst of the European Policy Centre (EPC) Eric Maurice.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has made overtures to Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia MEPs during her Spitzenkandidat campaign, but the party's secretary general Thanasis Bakolas told Euronews' Shona Murray that a formal deal is not in prospect.
Although EU elections are still dominating the agenda, with summer approaching we're all looking for a break. Find out which countries gain the most from Europeans' holiday budgets.
Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques and audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron. The music is by Alexandre Jas.