First came the exit polls. Then, less than an hour later: a second shock. On the heels of the French far right’s record score in European elections, President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and called surprise snap elections.

Since losing his outright majority in parliament after his re-election as president in 2022, Macron had muddled through with a mixture of compromises and executive decrees. Now, suddenly, comes a lightning-fast three-week campaign before a June 30 first round of voting. Just how risky a gamble is this?

Can Marine Le Pen's party ride the wave and win an outright majority? It's a tall order in a country where a two-round voting system safeguards against the extremes, but then again, who thought her National Rally party could win 89 seats the last time?

We ask why a growing number of women and young people turned to the far right and how much France's return to the polls will resonate beyond its borders. What will the impact be on Europe and beyond? Which way will the pendulum swing?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown.