Keir Starmer Could Become An Even More Important Ally For Emmanuel Macron

The surprise snap election in France could make it even more important for the winner of the UK General Election — currently expected to be Labour's Keir Starmer — to have a strong relationship with President Emmanuel Macron, according to a former ambassador to Paris.

Macron has called snap parliamentary elections to be held in France later this month, following European Parliament elections in which the French far-right National Rally (RN) party won large gains and obtained 31.4 per cent of the vote share, alongside growing support for other far-right parties across the continent.

The French president, who founded the liberal centrist party Renaissance, has made a huge gamble: the first poll since the election announcement shows RN could win up to 265 seats while support for Macron’s party could halve from 250 down to 125.

Under the French political system, if RN does emerge victorious at those elections then Macron would be forced to work with a far-right prime minister. According to former senior diplomat Lord Ricketts, this would be an "uncomfortable and difficult" domestic position for the French President to be in, and would make his relationship with whoever occupies 10 Downing Street even more important.

Ricketts, who was previously British Ambassador to France, said the UK prime minister could be an even important ally on the global stage if Macron is dealt this awkward political hand back home in France, where he would face significant pressure from the right wing.

“The French president has very strong powers in the areas of foreign policy, defence, national security, and so going into what they call a ‘cohabitation’ with a far-right prime minister would certainly be uncomfortable and difficult in domestic policy,”