France has dissolved it's parliament... And this may cancel the Tour de France's gravel stage

This weekend all throughout Europe there have been elections to elect towards the European parliament. Whilst this does not ordinarily have major consequences in the most countries' internal politics, it was not the case in France. The parliament has been dissolved by president Emmanuel Macron, and this could bring big consequences towards the Tour de France.

It was this Sunday night that the votes were unveiled, and in France Marine Le Pen's RN party managed to win with 31% of the votes - an overwhelmingly larger number of votes when comparing to Macron's Renaissance party which led a coalition that only managed to reach 14% of the votes.

Macron has dissolved the parliament and has called for elections that will take place very soon - within the next month actually. One round will take place on the 30th of June and the second one on the 7th of July, both on Sundays. Whilst the Tour de France, which begins on the 29th of June, will still be in Italy for the first round... That is not the case with the second one.

The 7th of June collides with stage 9 which starts and ends in the city of Troyes. Nation-wide elections will require a huge effort from the country's police and security to ensure that everything takes place as smoothly and safely as possible. Coincidentally, cycling races - and specially in an event such as the Tour de France - there is the need for a very large amount of police and security to make sure the peloton, race convoy and spectators all remain safe.

It is not known yet, but there is the small threat that the Tour can very much be affected by the happenings of the country's current political situation - and the race organizers are currently waiting for a clarification. Stage 9 of the Tour is one that has been highly anticipated due to it's large amount of gravel sectors and the effect that it may have on the race.