How a far-right push in Europe triggered a shock election in France –podcast

The far right has made significant gains in the European parliament elections. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has responded with a high-stakes gamble

As the results of the EU elections came in, the shocks kept coming. In France, Germany and Italy the far right made serious gains. Just under a quarter of MEPs in the European parliament will be drawn from these parties. But outside the biggest countries the picture was more complicated - in some places, the centre parties held their ground, in others, the left did well.

The biggest fallout has been in France. Macron saw the surge in the far-right votes as a direct challenge to his rule and his response was to call snap elections for the French parliament. Why has he taken such a huge gamble and what could all this mean for France - and the direction of Europe?