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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that he was “concerned” about the prospect of a victory for Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in the French parliamentary election.
“I am concerned about the elections in France,” Scholz told public broadcaster ARD in an interview. “I hope that parties that are not Le Pen — to put it that way — are successful in the election. But that is for the French people to decide,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s party is trailing badly in the polls with a week to go before the first round of the snap election he called in response to the humiliating drubbing his party suffered in the European Parliament election earlier this month. The anti-immigration National Rally is projected to win the most votes in a two rounds of balloting on June 30 and July 7.
The National Rally came first in the EU balloting, with 31 percent of the French vote. Party leader Jordan Bardella is a top candidate to become prime minister if the National Rally wins the French election.
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party also made gains in this month’s EU election, while Scholz’s ruling coalition suffered. The chancellor’s center-left Social Democrats scored their worst result ever, garnering just 14 percent of the vote, while the AfD scored 16 percent.
