French Campaign Kicks Off Amidst Tensions Over Snap Election

French President Emmanuel Macron has called snap parliamentary polls three years early, a move seen as a gamble to shake up politics in France after his centrists were trounced by the far-right in EU elections. However, this decision may backfire, according to a recent poll by Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche, which suggests that the far-right RN party will receive 35% of the votes in the first round on June 30. Macron's ruling coalition is still behind and has little chance of winning an outright majority itself. Macron has urged moderate voters to band together in support of his alliance, stating that "the masks have come off and the battle of values is out in the open." Official campaigning begins at midnight for the June 30 first round, with candidates having filed until Sunday evening. The snap election comes just weeks before France hosts the Olympics, leaving many baffled as to why Macron made this decision.