French left and right scramble to form a pact

French opposition parties on both the left and right have quickly moved to build alliances following President Emmanuel Macron's call for a snap election.

Macron dissolved the French Parliament on Sunday and called for legislative polls, to be held on June 30 and July 7, after his party suffered a crushing defeat in European Union parliamentary elections.

Left-wing parties have agreed to form an alliance that includes the Greens, the Socialists, the French Communist Party and the far-left France Unbowed of Jean-Luc Melenchon, Agence France-Presse reported.

Following the EU election results, left-leaning politicians are seeking unity to thwart a potential victory for the National Rally, which would be the first time a French far-right party leads a government since World War II.

In a joint statement, the alliance urged all left-wing entities, including powerful labor unions, to come together in support of a "new popular front", or "Front populaire", that offers an alternative to Macron's centrists, as well as fighting the far right.

On the right, Les Republicains party leader Eric Ciotti has proposed a coalition with Marine Le Pen's National Rally, citing common ground in their ideologies, Reuters reported.

"We say the same things, so let's stop making up imagined opposition," Ciotti told TF1 TV. "This is what the vast majority of our voters want. They tell us 'reach a deal'."

Le Pen is working to consolidate power on the right, The Associated Press reported. Her niece, Marion Marechal, who secured a seat in the European Parliament with the Reconquer! party led by Eric Zemmour, visited the National Rally headquarters in Paris on Monday to discuss forming a far-right alliance, the AP said.

Le Pen is also reported to have met with members of Les Republicains to consider a united front.

Easing restraints

Ciotti's move is raising concerns that Europe's mainstream right is easing its restraints on the far-right movement.

Centrist and left-leaning members of the European Parliament were quick to slam Ciotti's proposal, viewing it as a potential dismantling of a barrier that has kept radical right-wing forces out of power in France, Euronews reported.

"It's unthinkable for me (and many Les Republicains MPs) that there could be the slightest agreement, the slightest alliance, even local, or personal, with the RN (National Rally)," Philippe Gosselin, a Les Republicains lawmaker, told Reuters.

Co-chair of the European Green Party, Melanie Vogel, said in a statement: "In the last decade, we have seen liberals and conservatives in France making all of the same mistakes ... By failing to defend democratic values, by 'normalizing' the ideas of the far right, and by institutionalizing their presence in the Parliament, they have paved the way for the worst."