Rivals blast Macron for fearmongering after French president warns 'civil war' on horizon

French President Emmanuel Macron faced a backlash this week after he claimed that a win for either the far-right or hard-left in the upcoming snap election could lead to a "civil war."

"This is a strategy of fear," Eric Ciotti, leader of the conservative Republicans, said during an appearance on radio station BFMTV-RMC.

Patrick Kanner, the head of the Socialists in the French Senate, claimed that Macron’s comments showed that people are dealing with "someone who no longer controls anything."

Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally Party argued that Macron’s comments betray that he "thinks he’s lost the election," and National Rally President Jordan Bardella quipped that the French president "should not say that."

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Macron initiated the snap election, with the first round set to occur on June 30, after right-wing parties outperformed their rivals – including Macron’s own centrist Renew Party – during the European Parliamentary elections on June 9.

While the European elections do not necessarily impact domestic politics, many take them as a midterm indication of voter sentiments. As such, Macron argued that the only responsible move was to give the people a chance to reshape the government if they so strongly disagreed with his administration.

Macron’s approval rating is also at an all-time low of 26%, down 6 points from a survey taken just a month earlier, Bloomberg reported. Macron has hit this level twice before, in April 2023 and late 2018.

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During his appearance on the "Generation Do It Yourself" podcast this week, Macron