i think hugh schofield hasjust popped up from | schofield has just popped up from paris.w that marine le pen and the national rally were at record levels, over 30%. what do the exit polls show tonight? that record levels, over 3096. what do the exit polls show tonight?— exit polls show tonight? that is no surrise exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and _ exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and a _ exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and a big _ exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and a big surprise, - exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and a big surprise, in - exit polls show tonight? that is no surprise and a big surprise, in a i surprise and a big surprise, in a sense that the poles were correct, almost to a decimal point. 32% is what they are giving... 0ne almost to a decimal point. 32% is what they are giving... one in the people who turned out to that, more than double the emmanuel macron candidate, who came in at 15%. behind her, these socialists. no surprise. but of course at the same time, one has to sort of take stock

let's speak to our paris correspondent hugh schofield.iately once we realised that that news had broken. since then, it has been a good hour, how has this news been received in france? ~ , ., , how has this news been received in france? ~ ,, , , ~ france? well, everyone is shocked and surprised- _ france? well, everyone is shocked and surprised. i _ france? well, everyone is shocked and surprised. i say _ france? well, everyone is shocked and surprised. i say everyone, - france? well, everyone is shocked and surprised. i say everyone, and| and surprised. i say everyone, and it is everyone because even the people who are supposed to know about these things, such as the pundits on the talk shows, in the minutes leading up to the president's dress, they were asking themselves what could it all be about and it was beginning to dawn that maybe he could be calling a snap election but it was the furthest from the thought because the presumption was it would be a totally rash thing to do and so full of risk for his project that it would be unthin

hugh schofield has more.ing, his own party and a few allies, and on the left, you have an alliance of parties who normally have nothing to do with each other and hate each other, going all the way from the social democrats, the former president, francois hollande, all the way to the far left, people who hate the police and are on the streets protesting about gaza and so on. this bigger alliance has come together purely opportunistically in order to try to keep up the far right, and they are putting only one candidate up in each constituency, which should give them a good leg up. and then on the right you have the bouyant, confident national rally, fresh from its big victory in the european elections. it has managed to attract to its side some of the mainstream conservatives. macron's tactic is to try to portray the other two as unnatural groupings. on the left he says, you know, you have the far left allied with, you know, ordinary socialists — you know, it is not normal, you can't vote for them. on the right

that was hugh schofield with the view from france.have heard from the president of the european comission — ursual von der leyen, who vowed to build a "bastion against extremes" in the new eu parliament. you have heard from others, we will build a bastion against the extremes from the left and the right. we build a bastion against the extremes from the left and the right.— from the left and the right. we will sto from the left and the right. we will step them- — from the left and the right. we will stop them. this _ from the left and the right. we will stop them. this is _ from the left and the right. we will stop them. this is for _ from the left and the right. we will stop them. this is for sure. - from the left and the right. we will stop them. this is for sure. that i stop them. this is for sure. that was a ursula _ stop them. this is for sure. that was a ursula von _ stop them. this is for sure. that was a ursula von der— stop them. this is for sure. that was a ursula von der leyen. - stop them. this is for sure. that was a ursul

hugh schofield, bbc news, paris.f strictly come dancing. it comes after the 33—year—old dancer has denied allegations of abusive or threatening behaviour and said he looks forward to clearing his name. health bosses have issued an urgent plea for 0—blood type donors after a cyber attack which affected several major hospitals in london last week. pathology firm synnovis was attacked, which has led to serious it issues and caused cancelled operations and tests. the disruption means hospitals can't match patients�* blood at the same frequency as usual. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes told us more about the appeal. there are two types of 0—type blood. there's 0—negative, which is known as the universal blood type. it can be used on anybody. about 8% of the population have 0—negative blood, but 0—positive blood, which about 35% of the population have, that can be used on around three quarters of all patients. so between them, these two types of 0—blood covers almost every patient. now, this all relates back to, as

hugh schofield, bbc news, paris.e've been getting reaction from correspondents in some of the other countries in the european union. in a moment we will hear from mark lowen in rome, but first here's our berlin correspondent damien mcguinness who says the german chancellor is now under pressure. he didn't say anything about the results of his party — the worst results his party has ever had in any nationwide poll. it took him 2a hours to say anything, and even that he was rather grudging. it was at a press conference about something completely different, an official visit from the president of chile, and he was asked whether he should take responsibility for this terrible defeat of his party and whether there would be fresh elections, because there are increasingly calls from chancellor schulz�*s political opponents, including the conservatives and the far right, who say that, look, the french president has taken responsibility. he's called fresh elections. they say the chancellor here should do the same. but this af

our correspondent hugh schofield is on board one vessel recreating such a landing at gold beach this ute to their forebears who were one of the several royal marine units who went ashore on d—day. with me is colonel wil northcott, currently an officer today. tell us in the next hour what we will do. taste today. tell us in the next hour what we will do. ~ . today. tell us in the next hour what we will do— we will do. we are going to put two landin: we will do. we are going to put two landing craft _ we will do. we are going to put two landing craft utility _ we will do. we are going to put two landing craft utility onto _ we will do. we are going to put two landing craft utility onto gold i landing craft utility onto gold beach — landing craft utility onto gold beach where they will cross the beach _ beach where they will cross the beach and we will have a small memorial— beach and we will have a small memorial service and then we will replicate — memorial service and then we will replicate what we call a young, but think— replicate what we call a young, but think of— replicate what w

strong position ahead of the next french presidential election in 2027. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofieldnd he starts his report in a cathedral town around 160 kilometres south—east of paris. they are on a roll and they know it. they, the national rally, are so far ahead in the french polls that their biggest worry is supporters like these taking a massive victory for granted and not turning out. that is why the president has come to this market town. selfie hell, of course. this is the new face of france's far right. he is personable, popular and above all, very young, and atjust 28, he is leading the national rally in these elections to new heights. circumstances are helping. inflation is hurting. 0ut here in the provinces, president macron is unpopular. and now there has been a run of atrocious stories of violence among immigrant communities in schools, in the paris suburbs, a 15—year—old was beaten to death, seemingly by the brothers of a teenage girl angry that she was in contact with him. the case is not unique. for the national rally�*s newest star recruit, it translates into a pop

hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. we're joined now by christian fraser, who's in brussels. the rest of europe? it what does the picture look like in the rest of europe?— what does the picture look like in the rest of europe? if you look more widel , the rest of europe? if you look more widely. two — the rest of europe? if you look more widely, two stories _ the rest of europe? if you look more widely, two stories can _ the rest of europe? if you look more widely, two stories can be _ the rest of europe? if you look more widely, two stories can be true - the rest of europe? if you look more widely, two stories can be true of. widely, two stories can be true of this election. yes the right did well across europe, but so did the centre right. if you look from the social democrat centre—left to the centre right, they still hold a50 seats. they're still the power. there are two things to say about this parliament, it doesn't work like a conventional parliament. legislation is reserved for the eu. the second thing to say is this group of hard right parties are a disparate lot and

our correspondent hugh schofield is in paris for us. ing today. the d—day commemorations continue with president macron in the town of bayeux, the first picks are liberated in france after d—day, i later today president biden goes to a very important place in the american recollections of d—day because it is where the rangers had to scale clips to destroy german positions. ronald reagan made an important speech they are back in 1984. connected to that, we are moving into a diplomatic sequence as well. president zelensky who was there yesterday is now in paris. he has addressed the national assembly, the lower house of parliament, met defence officials and met president biden who came to paris before going back to normandy. there was a promise of more aid from america to ukraine. latertoday, but zelensky meets emmanuel macron, to discuss the planes and the jets that have been promised by macron and then there is a dinner at the elysee palace later. and then tomorrow the state visit president biden to france happens, you can see the stars

joining me now is our paris correspondent hugh schofield. what the opinion.nd 'ubilation for the far right?h for the far right? yes, the far riaht for the far right? yes, the far right sees — for the far right? yes, the far right sees another _ for the far right? yes, the far right sees another victory - for the far right? yes, the far| right sees another victory and for the far right? yes, the far- right sees another victory and not just that, it keeps going up. it has got more today, around 34% than it did at the europeans when it got 31% and that was higher than ever before. you certainly cannot say the win has gone out of their sails. far from it. they will be very mindful the second round now begins, the second round of these elections are very different. they are going to face the potential across the country of their opponents to keep them out. that is the crucial thing in this period. so often you had alliances, not formal alliances and we have to see if that will work. there will be a lot of pressure where there are triangular, three—way votes for on

our paris correspondent hugh schofield has been finding out why this has been happening, and he startsay, the national rally are so far ahead in the french polls that their biggest worry supporters like these taking a massive victory for granted and not turning out. that's why the party's president has come to this market town. selfie hell, of course! all for the cause. this is the new face of france's far right. he is popular, personable, but above all, very young, and at just 28, he is leading the national rally in these elections to new heights. circumstances are helping. inflation is hurting. out here in the provinces, president macron is unpopular. and now, there has been a run of atrocious stories of violence among immigrant communities in schools. in the paris suburbs, a 15—year—old was beaten to death, seemingly by the brothers of a teenage girl angry that she was in contact with him. the case is not unique. forthe contact with him. the case is not unique. for the national rally�*s newest star recruit, translates into a crying popular demand for authority. he is no outsider, bu

hugh schofield, bbc news, paris.ment. -- to call that hiuh what an understatement. -- to call that high risk. _ what an understatement. -- to call that high risk, what _ what an understatement. -- to call that high risk, what an _ that high risk, what an understatement. it that high risk, what an understatement.- that high risk, what an understatement. , ., ., , , understatement. it is a gamble, but what ou understatement. it is a gamble, but what you have _ understatement. it is a gamble, but what you have to _ understatement. it is a gamble, but what you have to remember, - understatement. it is a gamble, but| what you have to remember, anyone who runs in the parliamentary elections has got to get 50% of the vote and very often these races go to a second round and it has been the case in the past that the mainstream parties rally around the alternative candidate, so it will not be straightforward, i don�*t think, for the national rally, the other thing is they need a majority of 289 in a 577 seat parliament, which

this 0ur this correspondent hugh schofield has been on one of the boats taking part in the re—enactmentsaking part in these events. ask any of them, they all say it is absolutely crucial. it's part of their lore, l—0—r—e, their esprit de corps. they need to pass on the memory of what happened that day, which was the most momentous day in the unit's history, to the new generations of marines who are signing on. and that's what's happening. we have older men, younger men and women, and what they're doing is carrying on a tradition in which the older people got from their elders maybe 20 or 30 years ago. they're passing on the memory of this moment, which was a moment of such supreme sacrifice that it is the culminating and most important time in the history of these modern day units. so that's what they're doing. plus, of course, the wider task of educating the public to the importance of what happened on that day. and a lot has been said about the passing from memory to history — that's what's happening now. memory is disappearing, it's becoming history. and so the experience is different

decision to call a vote so close to the upcoming olympics in the city. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofieldore. president macron was taking stock, and then a bolt from the blue, this dramatic announcement... translation: after having carried out the consultations _ provided for in article 12 in our constitution, i decided to put back in your hands the choice of our parliamentary future by the vote. in a few moments i will sign the decree convening the legislative elections which will be held on the 30th ofjune for the first round and on the 7th ofjuly for the second round.

work together to counter political forces on the extreme right and left. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofieldrise — what has mr macron been saying about why he called them? he was giving a press conference and he said he called them because he thought the situation had become untenable. already in parliament it was impossible to do parliamentary business because his party is in a minority or only has a qualified majority and he could not be sure of getting any laws through. and on top of that we had this result on sunday in which half of the population voted for what he called the extremes. 40% for the far right, 10% or more for the far left. so he said i had to get clarification. translation: we are at a time when our country must rise to a number of challenges and cannot be blocked by the extremes. and because it is an act of confidence in our people can in democracy and the republican spirit, in a national common sense. in my view in this context returning to the sovereign people is the only republican decision. 50 the sovereign people is the only republican decision.— the sovereign people

that was hugh schofield there on one of those landing re—enactments.ldiers. they are playing a video now and waiting for president biden to come and talk and address the crowd. early on he met with these veterans who have come from america. you can see some sat there in wheelchairs covered in blue blankets. earlier on president biden presented each veteran with a commemoratives coin and also talked to them individually, asking them about their experiences in the war, they told him their stories. he also asked them about their lives since the war and about their homes, which they returned to after their involvement in the war ended. if we take you back to that day while we watch this, as i mentioned earlier, 160,000 troops were involved in that d—day landing. they landed on five beachesin d—day landing. they landed on five beaches in normandy in northern france and the landing was the start of the campaign to liberate nazi occupied north—west europe. so as we just very slowly follow what is happening here, you can see the veterans being moved back sligh

our correspondent hugh schofield joins us now. it sounds like another spectacular moment.t. it is indeed. in the last few minutes here in _ moment. it is indeed. in the last few minutes here in the - moment. it is indeed. in the last few minutes here in the field i moment. it is indeed. in the last few minutes here in the field in i few minutes here in the field in centerville some way from the beaches we have been treated to a glorious spectacle of members of the 16 air assault brigade dropping into the field behind me here now on account of tribute, a re—enactment, to their forebears from sixth airborne division who landed here in their hundreds and thousands on the night of jana their hundreds and thousands on the night ofjana fett and their hundreds and thousands on the night of jana fett and jena their hundreds and thousands on the night ofjana fett and jena six. d—day was notjust night ofjana fett and jena six. d—day was not just the seaborne landings but also this airborne landings but also this airborne landing by parachute and glider and for the british it meant h

that is hugh schofield, are correspondent who is in arromanches covering the wonderful commemorativeand joe biden, the american president, side by side and president macron is the host of this spectacular event. reasonably blue skies and reasonably clement weather for this commemorative anniversary event. some wonderfulfaces for this commemorative anniversary event. some wonderful faces there as well. applause and as he was telling us, we will hear quite shortly from president macron and events at the main commemoration here are running pretty late, about an hour later, in fact, and president biden and his wife, jill, were the last to arrive and he was greeted by various world leaders, more than 20 of them, in the front row of the main stand and he had a brief word with prince william as well and then the event you are now watching got under way and we had some black and white footage of the second world war as you would expect. let's just continue to watch and listen in to this commemoration service. this time, we climbed _ this commemoration service. ti 3 time, we climbed aboard. t

. - hugh schofield is in paris for us, and damian mcguiness is in berlin.al rally, i can't remember actually a party in a european election getting something at that level. �* ., ., ., ., , level. i'm going to not answer your auestion level. i'm going to not answer your question because _ level. i'm going to not answer your question because something - level. i'm going to not answer your question because something very l question because something very dramatic has happened is president macron has dissolved parliament and there will be elections in a month and i'm breaking this news because it is breaking in the last minute where macron decided the results were so heavy against him he would take this dramatic step. we are being told that half an hour ago macron was going to make some sort of intervention this evening which is unusual because normally a president wouldn't do that, he certainly has never done that, and we were speculating what could it possibly be that he was announcing and we wondered if it could be a dissolution of parliament and it is. thi