French President Macron calls for snap election after heavy defeat in EU vote

• French President Emmanuel Macron said he would dissolve parliament and call for a new election after suffering a heavy defeat in EU elections on Sunday.
• Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally is set to win around 31.5% of the vote, compared to 15.2% for Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party, according to exit polls.
• "I will ... not be able, at the end of this day, to act as if nothing had happened," Macron said in a TV address, according to a translation by CNBC.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would dissolve the country's parliament and call for a new legislative election after suffering a heavy defeat in EU elections on Sunday.

Exit polls published by public broadcaster France TV indicated that Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) is set to win around 31.5% of the vote, compared to 15.2% for Macron's Renaissance party.

The blow led the French leader to call for a surprise parliamentary election, with the first round on June 30 and the second round on July 7.

"I will ... not be able, at the end of this day, to act as if nothing had happened," Macron said in a TV address, according to a translation by CNBC.

It comes after polls closed on the final, and biggest, day of voting in elections for members of European Parliament, with populist, far-right parties winning record support, according to early data.

The center-right European People's Party (EPP) is once again projected to win the most parliamentary seats, however, with slightly more seats than before.

This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.

— CNBC's Charlotte Reed contributed to this report.