The rise of the far right in yesterday’s European elections is causing tremors in the national governments of France and Germany, with the former already on the way to elections and the latter being called into question.

Many characterize the French president’s decision to call an election after the victory of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Alarm party with double the percentage of Emmanuel Macron’s as a leap into the void.

Macron, in calling the election, made clear his view that France is at a historic crossroads.

Government officials spoke of a high-risk decision from the first moment, in fact, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that the two-round vote, which will begin on June 30, could have “the most serious consequences” in modern French history. .

In neighboring Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats also suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the conservative opposition, with him ruling out early elections.

Bavaria’s conservative CSU prime minister, Markus Söder, said Olaf Solz’s government is essentially finished and must follow the French example.

Elections are not due in Germany until 2025, but Mr Söder said “the country needs a fresh start”.

Macron ally Yael Brown-Pivet, who is president of the National Assembly, said there was an alternative to new elections, which included a government pact, but it was not the president’s choice as without a majority in parliament, the government relies in supporting other parties to pass the laws.

The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, also expressed her disappointment at the announcement of the election, as the vote will be held three weeks before the Olympic Games.

Macron’s Renew party garnered less than 15% of the vote on Sunday, while the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen and youth leader Jordan Bardela secured more than 31%.

The decision to hold new elections sent shockwaves across the political spectrum, with reports of a hastily arranged meeting involving top National Rally leaders and Marion Marechal from the rival far-right Reconquête party.

President Macron met Monday with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Nazi massacre, when SS troops murdered 643 villagers in 1944.

President Steinmeier said it was right on the day after the European elections that Europeans should never forget the damage done by nationalism and hatred: “Let us never forget the miracle of reconciliation that the European Union has done.”

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second in Sunday’s European elections, ahead of the three parties in Solz’s coalition government, despite a series of scandals involving the two leading AfD candidates.

Newly elected AfD MEPs have voted to expel front-runner Maximilian Krah from their delegation to the European Parliament, following an investigation into him over alleged ties to Russia and China.

Meanwhile, President Macron is set to meet both Olaf Solz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni at the G7 summit this week in the Italian region of Puglia.

The three leaders are likely to not only discuss the outcome of Sunday’s European vote, but also whether to back Ursula von der Leyen’s bid to win a second term as European Commission president.

Giorgia Meloni told Italian radio on Monday that it was “too early to talk about a second term” for the current head of the Commission.

von der Leyen’s centre-right European People’s Party emerged as the largest group in the next European Parliament.