The far-right chief expertly surfed a wave of populist sentiment to win the most votes in the parliamentary election, leaving the president’s pro-Europe party heavily bruised. Some 57 percent of French people think Mr Macron should “significantly change his political orientation” in light of his election defeat, the Elabe poll of 1,000 people showed. The anti-immigration, anti-Brussels Rassemblement national (RN) party finished top in Sunday’s election with 23.31 percent of the French vote, with Mr Macron’s La République en Marche (REM) alliance trailing behind with 22.41 percent.
The two groups will have the same number of seats in the EU Chamber, 23, after Britain’s expected departure from the bloc later this year.
The survey, conducted for the news channel BFMTV on May 27-28, also found that 44 percent of French voters think that Mr Macron has emerged “weakened” from the EU election.
Only 8 percent said he has come out “strengthened”.
Second place is a symbolic but not crushing blow for Mr Macron, who has staked his presidency on persuading European citizens that a united bloc is the answer to the challenges of an uncertain, globalising world.
And while members of his team have acknowledged that losing to Mrs Le Pen was a “disappointment,” they have branded the result “respectable” and suggested there would be no major policy changes as a result.
A member of Mr Macron’s inner circle, speaking to the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, insisted there would be “no change of line” and the president would on the contrary speed up his planned reforms, which include tax cuts for the middle classes and changes to the country’s pension and unemployment benefits system.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe echoed the source, saying in a televised statement shortly after the results were announced that the RN’s win confirmed the “redrawing” of French politics.
He said: “This time is for action because the French people will judge us ultimately on one thing: results.”
Coming first would have boosted Mr Macron’s credibility among voters following six months of anti-government protests that have slowly chipped away at his authority.
So-called yellow vest protesters have taken to the streets every Saturday since mid-November to denounce high taxes and sinking purchasing power, forcing Mr Macron to announce major tax cuts and a rise in the minimum wage.
So-called yellow vest protesters have taken to the streets every Saturday since mid-November to denounce high taxes and sinking purchasing power, forcing Mr Macron to announce major tax cuts and a rise in the minimum wage.
Mrs Le Pen, for her part, has called for the head of state to dissolve the French parliament and hold snap elections following his defeat, a proposal that was swiftly rejected by the government.
“It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in the vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality,” she said.
The head of her EU campaign, 23-year-old Jordan Bardella, called the result a “failure” for the ruling REM party.
“The gains for our allies in Europe and the emergence of new forces across the continent… open the way for the formation of a powerful group in the European parliament,” Mr Bardella told RN supporters.
Mrs Le Pen wants to overhaul the bloc from the inside, with the aim of turning it into a “union of nation states” which act independently from Brussels.
But while she has been bolstered by gains for far-right populist parties across Europe, she now faces the tricky task of finding allies with whom she will be able to forge a “supergroup” of ultra-nationalists in the EU parliament.
Ongoing tensions among anti-Europe sovereignists, who also include the Polish and Hungarian ruling parties and the Brexit Party of Nigel Farage, have limited their clout and impact on EU policy.