Is president Emmanuel Macron handing the keys of the French prime minister’s office to the far right? Minutes after Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National won an historic victory in Sunday’s elections for the European Parliament, Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly. On June 30, French voters will therefore return to the polling booths for the first round of snap parliamentary elections that have taken the entire political and media class by surprise.

“I decided to give back to you the choice over our governing future and therefore dissolve the National Assembly,” Macron said in a televised address on Sunday night. “This decision was not taken lightly, but it’s most of all an expression of confidence, my confidence in the French people’s ability to make the right choices for themselves and for the coming generations.” The largest force to emerge from a July 7 runoff vote will have the first opportunity to form a new government, in what will likely be a period of major political instability.