France's far-right RN urges snap elections

PARIS (Reuters) -France's far-right National Rally urged President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to swiftly dissolve parliament and call snap elections, adding that Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's efforts to stave off the collapse of his government would fail.

The RN and other opposition parties have said they will bring down the minority government in a September 8 confidence vote, which Bayrou unexpectedly announced last week as he seeks to push through unpopular plans for a budget squeeze in 2026.

That helped push France's 30-year government bond yields to their highest levels in over 16 years on Tuesday, driven by fiscal concerns.

"There has been no miracle, this meeting ... won't make the RN change its mind," RN president Jordan Bardella said after he and Marine Le Pen, the dominant force in the anti-immigration party, met with Bayrou.

"We call for an ultra-quick dissolution (of parliament), so that the new majority that will come out of these elections can build up a budget (for the country)," Le Pen told reporters.

The parties that have said they will vote against Bayrou - including the RN and Socialists - together have enough votes to trigger the fall of the government.

If Bayrou does lose, Macron can appoint a new prime minister, ask Bayrou to stay on in a caretaker capacity for some time, or decide to call snap parliamentary elections.

Macron called a snap parliamentary election in June last year that was widely seen as a failed gamble, further weakening him and delivering an even more fragmented parliament. Opinion polls show new elections would deliver another hung parliament, but with the RN likely stronger.

Any new prime minister would be the fifth since Macron's re-election three years ago.

Amid concerns over the political uncertainty, France's 30-year government bond yields hit their highest since June 2009 on Tuesday at 4.513%, up 6.5 basis points.

"The reality is that a successor to Bayrou would likely suffer the same fate, with opposition parties opposing any meaningful fiscal consolidation," Nomura analysts said in a note.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Sudip Kar-Gupta; writing by Ingrid Melander, editing by Alexandra Hudson)