Shock resignations and elections in Europe spark memes over the timing

If the UK general election campaign wasn’t enough, then Sunday night came with the news that French president Emmanuel Macron had dissolved parliament and called a snap election, and that Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo had resigned from his position – both happening after right-wing and far-right parties made gains in the European Union elections.

In France, Macron said in an address: “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.

"In the next few days I’ll be saying what I think is the right direction for the nation. I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered.”

The move – seen by commentators as a gamble considering the presence of the far-right in the country’s political arena – was welcomed by Marine Le Pen, a former presidential candidate and a member of the National Rally party.

“We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,” she said.

As for De Croo’s resignation, the political leader described Sunday as a “particularly difficult evening” for his Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats party, conceding that it “lost” the vote and that the country needed “a new government quickly, with full powers”.

He’ll remain as a caretaker PM until a new government is put in place.

And a whole host of elections across Europe has shocked Brits who were only just wrapping their head around a chaotic UK election campaign:

It seems the end of June and start of July should be busy for both the UK and France, as while Britons head to the polls on 4 July, Macron has called for his country’s legislative elections to take place on 20 June and 7 July.

France will want to have all the political stuff out of the way before it hosts the 2024 Olympic Games from 26 July.

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