Germany and France were the most affected by the election results. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted to poor results and urged coalition government parties to work together to improve the situation before the German parliamentary election.
In the European Parliament election, all parties in Germany's "traffic light coalition" saw significant drops in votes. The Greens experienced the biggest loss compared to the 2019 election. The Social Democrats also had their worst result in a European election. The popularity of the Free Democratic Party, which had peaked in the 2021 federal election, dropped sharply.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced early elections to form a new parliament on June 30, with the second round on July 7. Macron's decision to dissolve France's parliament came after a significant rise in far-right votes in the European Parliament election.
The far-right National Rally party, led by Jordan Bardella, won about 32% of the vote in France. Macron's Renaissance party received 15%, and the Socialists got 14%. Marine Le Pen of the National Rally reacted to Macron's decision, stating they are ready to take power.
One reason for the ruling parties' defeats in Germany and France is seen as their efforts to please the U.S. and pro-Israel lobbyists. Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has visited Israel several times and is known for her strong support of Tel Aviv. Pro-Palestine demonstrations in Germany have been suppressed multiple times. In France, Macron has claimed to be a peacemaker in the region, but in practice, he has repeatedly suppressed protests against the Israeli regime.
The leaders of Paris and London, following U.S. policies and despite opposition from their citizens, have been heavily involved in the Ukraine war, increasing living costs, especially for fuel and energy. Their heavy losses in this election show that public opinion, even in the U.S. and Israel's allied West, no longer supports such alliances.