section_path: Presidency (2017–present)/Second term (2022–present)/2024 snap legislative election
section_name: 2024 snap legislative election
paragraph_text: 2024 snap legislative election
  
  On 9 June 2024, following the results of the 2024 European Parliament elections in which his centrist grouping received only 14.6% of the votes, finishing nearly 17 points behind Le Pen's RN party, Macron unexpectedly dissolved the National Assembly and called for an early legislative election to be held on 30 June and 7 July 2024.
  
  In the first round of the election, on 30 June, Macron's grouping received only 20.04% of the votes nationwide, placing third well behind the hard-right RN (33.15%) and the left-wing NFP alliance (27.99%), which constituted the worst electoral performance for a governing coalition in a general election since the start of the modern French Republic in 1870. Exit polls released shortly after 8pm on 30 June suggested the RN-led alliance was on course to win either a plurality of seats or an outright majority in the second round, while Macron's coalition was set to lose at least half of the seats it won in 2022.
  
  In the second round, on 7 July, Macron was handed another hung parliament with the left-wing coalition unexpectedly winning a plurality of seats though 90 to 100 seats short of an overall majority, leaving the left theoretically unable to form a government on its own. Macron's grouping lost both 86 seats and its status as the largest parliamentary bloc while the RN-led alliance, though dramatically underperforming the polls, still managed to make significant gains, eventually becoming the largest single party in the new National Assembly. The results presented unprecedented potential for political crisis and parliamentary gridlock.
  
  Shortly after exit polls were released on the night of 7 July, Macron's Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, announced he would tender his resignation to the President. The following day, Macron refused Attal's resignation, instead asking him to stay on until a new government could be formed.
  
  On 27 August, Macron refused to appoint NFP-designate Lucie Castets as prime minister.
  
  After holding talks with leaders from parties represented in Parliament in an effort to find a working majority, Macron appointed conservative figure Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September and invited him to form a "unity government". Barnier's appointment was seen as a growing sign of Le Pen's influence on French politics since she had previously blocked the appointment of Xavier Bertrand, another conservative figure seen as a serious contender for the premiership.
  
  On 9 June 2024, following the results of the 2024 European Parliament elections in which his centrist grouping received only 14.6% of the votes, finishing nearly 17 points behind Le Pen's RN party, Macron unexpectedly dissolved the National Assembly and called for an early legislative election to be held on 30 June and 7 July 2024.
  
  In the first round of the election, on 30 June, Macron's grouping received only 20.04% of the votes nationwide, placing third well behind the hard-right RN (33.15%) and the left-wing NFP alliance (27.99%), which constituted the worst electoral performance for a governing coalition in a general election since the start of the modern French Republic in 1870. Exit polls released shortly after 8pm on 30 June suggested the RN-led alliance was on course to win either a plurality of seats or an outright majority in the second round, while Macron's coalition was set to lose at least half of the seats it won in 2022.
  
  In the second round, on 7 July, Macron was handed another hung parliament with the left-wing coalition unexpectedly winning a plurality of seats though 90 to 100 seats short of an overall majority, leaving the left theoretically unable to form a government on its own. Macron's grouping lost both 86 seats and its status as the largest parliamentary bloc while the RN-led alliance, though dramatically underperforming the polls, still managed to make significant gains, eventually becoming the largest single party in the new National Assembly. The results presented unprecedented potential for political crisis and parliamentary gridlock.
  
  Shortly after exit polls were released on the night of 7 July, Macron's Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, announced he would tender his resignation to the President. The following day, Macron refused Attal's resignation, instead asking him to stay on until a new government could be formed.
  
  On 27 August, Macron refused to appoint NFP-designate Lucie Castets as prime minister.
  
  After holding talks with leaders from parties represented in Parliament in an effort to find a working majority, Macron appointed conservative figure Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September and invited him to form a "unity government". Barnier's appointment was seen as a growing sign of Le Pen's influence on French politics since she had previously blocked the appointment of Xavier Bertrand, another conservative figure seen as a serious contender for the premiership.
  
  On 9 June 2024, following the results of the 2024 European Parliament elections in which his centrist grouping received only 14.6% of the votes, finishing nearly 17 points behind Le Pen's RN party, Macron unexpectedly dissolved the National Assembly and called for an early legislative election to be held on 30 June and 7 July 2024.
  
  In the first round of the election, on 30 June, Macron's grouping received only 20.04% of the votes nationwide, placing third well behind the hard-right RN (33.15%) and the left-wing NFP alliance (27.99%), which constituted the worst electoral performance for a governing coalition in a general election since the start of the modern French Republic in 1870. Exit polls released shortly after 8pm on 30 June suggested the RN-led alliance was on course to win either a plurality of seats or an outright majority in the second round, while Macron's coalition was set to lose at least half of the seats it won in 2022.
  
  In the second round, on 7 July, Macron was handed another hung parliament with the left-wing coalition unexpectedly winning a plurality of seats though 90 to 100 seats short of an overall majority, leaving the left theoretically unable to form a government on its own. Macron's grouping lost both 86 seats and its status as the largest parliamentary bloc while the RN-led alliance, though dramatically underperforming the polls, still managed to make significant gains, eventually becoming the largest single party in the new National Assembly. The results presented unprecedented potential for political crisis and parliamentary gridlock.
  
  Shortly after exit polls were released on the night of 7 July, Macron's Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, announced he would tender his resignation to the President. The following day, Macron refused Attal's resignation, instead asking him to stay on until a new government could be formed.
  
  On 27 August, Macron refused to appoint NFP-designate Lucie Castets as prime minister.
  
  After holding talks with leaders from parties represented in Parliament in an effort to find a working majority, Macron appointed conservative figure Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September and invited him to form a "unity government". Barnier's appointment was seen as a growing sign of Le Pen's influence on French politics since she had previously blocked the appointment of Xavier Bertrand, another conservative figure seen as a serious contender for the premiership.