Eurotopics.net

In the first round of the parliamentary elections in France the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies emerged as the strongest force with 33 percent of the votes. Ahead of the second round of voting on Sunday, the leftist alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), which came second, and the Macron camp in third place have already withdrawn 150 candidates in order to boost each other's chances against the RN.

Hungary took over the rotating EU Council presidency on 1 July. The Hungarian government's much-criticised stance vis-à-vis EU decision-making, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine, has been raising doubts about the country's suitability for this role. The discussion continues in Europe's press. All commentaries were published before it emerged on Tuesday morning that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had travelled to Kyiv for a surprise visit.

The US Supreme Court has handed down its judgement on the extent to which former presidents are protected from criminal prosecution. According to this judgement immunity applies to official acts, at least. Decided by six votes to three, this was a victory for the ultra-conservative justices on the jury. Europe's press discusses the implications for the cases pending against ex-president Donald Trump.

The first round of the French parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly after his party suffered heavy losses and the right-wing nationalist Rassemblement National (RN) made strong gains in the European elections. The electoral alliance New Popular Front (NFP) is running with a centre-left agenda. Europe's press is keeping a close eye on the developments in France.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump fiercely attacked each other in the first televised debate between the US presidential candidates. Biden labelled Trump a liar and a criminal with the "morals of an alley cat". Trump made the unsubstantiated claim that the migration policy of the "worst president of all time" had led to more crime. The European press is unanimous that Biden in particular failed to make a convincing impression.