Macron dissolves French National Assembly and calls for snap election

French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved France's National Assembly and called a snap election.

In elections to the European Parliament, Marine le Pen's National Rally party won about 32% of the vote - a 10 point increase on the last EU election in 2019.

It is also more than double the 15% taken by Mr Macron's Renaissance party, according to exit polls.

Mr Macron said he could not "pretend nothing had happened" and admitted the EU election was "no good" for his government.

The "rise of nationalists" is a danger to France and to Europe, he said.

Speaking at the Elysee Palace, Mr 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."

There will be two rounds of voting on 30 June and 7 July, he added.

Ms Le Pen said her party was "ready to take over power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections".

A similar move to the right appears to be underway in Germany, too.

The Alternative for Germany party (AfD) reportedly took second place in EU elections there, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats recorded their worst ever result.

The AfD appears to have made gains in particular among the young.

Co-leader Alice Weidel said her party had done well because "people have become more anti-European".

She added: "People are annoyed by so much bureaucracy from Brussels."