Organisers say political upheaval in France won't affect Olympics preparations after the French President labelled the rise of nationalism a danger to Europe, gambling on an early vote to re-establish his waning authority.
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00:00 The morning after calling a snap election, the decision by French President Emmanuel
00:07 Macron is hard to ignore and confusing for some Parisians.
00:14 There are surely complicated calculations behind it and not necessarily very intelligent.
00:21 I find that it doesn't surprise me, so we'll see what happens next.
00:26 But with Paris on the world stage in just over a month, it has come as a surprise to
00:31 others.
00:34 Dissolving the parliament so close to the Olympics was another blow.
00:38 I am having a hard time to understand.
00:42 This is a democratic process that will not disrupt the Games.
00:47 Mr Macron made the announcement an hour after a bruising loss in the European Parliament
00:52 election with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally Party winning more than double the votes
00:58 of Mr Macron's centrist alliance.
01:02 The people will make a decision and if he ends up with a different majority, he won't
01:06 have a choice but to cope with it.
01:10 The far-right made strides in the European election, but the pro-European parties at
01:15 the centre have commanded a majority.
01:18 Together, we will and can form a bastion against the extremes from the left and right.
01:25 As countries across the EU consider their gains and losses, parliament has dissolved
01:31 in France, giving candidates a swift three weeks to campaign.
01:36 [laughter]
01:37 [end of transcript]
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