Emmanuel Macron has come under fire from Michel Barnier for calling a snap parliamentary election, who warned the French President is likely to be humiliated by French voters for ignoring public anger over security and migration.
Mr Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said the French leader had not paid heed to what happened in the UK before Brexit. He explained that Mr Macron had driven France to the brink of Frexit, with voters keen to punish the establishment parties.
French voters will go to the polls on 30 June and 7 July, in an election that could hand political power to the far right for the first time. Mr Macron called the snap parliamentary election after his party suffered a massive defeat in the European elections.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Barnier pointed out that he gave a copy of his memoir to Mr Macron three years ago, after leaving his role as chief Brexit negotiator. In his book, Mr Barnier warned Europen leaders that more countries could leave the European Union if lessons were not learned from Brexit.
He believes the French President had not listened to his warning, saying: “I regret that in my country this warning has not been listened to about migration, security, authority of the state, and the respect and development of the poorest parts of the country.
“The first chapter was written precisely in the spirit of what could happen in [France]. It is my conviction that we have to pay huge conviction and great respect to what people on the ground think in some very poor regions. That was the case in the UK, and I think it could be the same in France.”
The latest polls suggest that the National Rally has cemented its lead in opinion polls less than a week before the elections.
Support for Marine Le Pen’s far-right party was at 36 percent in a survey by Elabe published Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche.
The new left-wing New Popular Front alliance has garnered 27 percent support in the latest poll, while Mr Macron’s Renaissance party has just 20 percent support.
A projection by Elabe shows that the National Rally could have 250 to 280 lawmakers in the next parliament, just shy of the 289 needed for an absolute majority.
Meanwhile, Matthew Lynn, a financial columnist for the Telegraph, has said that Britain could “get revenge” on Mr Macron and exploit the financial chaos that will follow the election in France.
He said that Mr Macron had to overtake and destroy the City of London’s status as a financial capital after Brexit.
The expert wrote: “Over the last seven years, Macron openly tried to destroy the City and steal its business. The French government had no qualms about using Brexit as a lever to shift jobs and wealth to the other side of the channel. With France in turmoil, the British Government should try the same trick.”
This comes after the French stock market has been rocked in recent days over the political uncertainty facing the country.
