German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday, June 23, he was "concerned" about the prospect of a victory for the far-right in France's upcoming parliamentary elections. "I am concerned about the elections in France," Scholz told public broadcaster ARD in an annual summer interview. "And I hope that parties that are not [Marine] Le Pen, to put it that way, are successful in the election. But that is for the French people to decide," he added.
President Emmanuel Macron's party is trailing badly with less than two weeks to go before the first round of the snap elections he called in response to the far right drubbing his party in European polls. Opinion polls forecast Macron's ruling alliance would come third in the legislative elections on June 30 – followed by a second round on July 7 – behind Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and a new left-wing alliance.
This could make RN leader Jordan Bardella France's next prime minister, although the 28-year-old has insisted he will only accept this if his party and allies win an absolute majority of seats.
Germany's far-right AfD party also made gains at this month's European Parliament elections, while Scholz's ruling coalition suffered.