The front pages are dominated by the French election, along with images of England’s triumphant footballers. Emmanuel Macron has been humiliated by the French right, writes the Times, as his party were “reduced to third place” in the first round of the country’s parliamentary election. Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, National Rally (RN), “hailed an unprecedented triumph” on Sunday. The paper also previews a speech it says UK PM Rishi Sunak will give on Monday turning “fire on [Nigel] Farage in battle for the undecided voters”.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Mr Macron’s decision to call a snap election appears to have “spectacularly backfired”. It carries National Rally leader Marie Le Pen’s quote that she has “wiped out” Macron, after exit polls suggested her party won 34% of the votes. Elsewhere paper writes that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will tell voters on Monday that “Putin is hoping for a Labour victory”. The PM told the Telegraph that the UK’s support of Ukraine means “Russia does not want us [Conservatives] to be re-elected.”
The Financial Times also leads with the French snap election and says that the far-right will be at “the heart of the government” if Ms Le Pen wins the second and final round on 7 July. The paper also reports that in the US Democrats have “lined up to defend” President Joe Biden, after a poll showed 72% of registered voters did not think Biden should be running for president after his “disastrous” debate performance last week.
Back to the UK election, the Guardian’s front page features an exclusive interview with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who “vows his party would work to restore faith in politics” if they win the election on Thursday. Sir Keir told the paper he would bring an end to “‘divisive and toxic’ culture wars that have beset the country.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “issues rallying cry”, the Daily Mail writes, as it also previews a speech the PM will give on Monday. The paper says Mr Sunak will warn disaffected Tory voters that they risk “locking in a Labour government” for a generation, and that voters only have “four days to save Britain from a Labour government”.
Both the Conservatives and Labour are warned by economists that the UK is heading for “‘stagnation’ after election”, writes the i. Mr Sunak and Sir Keir are “failing to offer a ‘serious plan’ to grow the UK economy”, economists told the paper.
“Saved by the Bell”, is the headline in the the Sun, alongside a full-page picture of Jude Bellingham’s equaliser goal in the 95th-minute which “brought England back from the dead” at the Euros on Sunday. After a second goal from captain Harry Kane, England beat Slovakia with a 2-1 win.
The Metro also leads with England’s win at the Euros against Slovakia. Its report also includes some of the criticism of the game, calling the win an “unconvincing performance”.
The Daily Mirror writes that England suffered a “near humiliation” by Slovakia at the Euros. Fans were “put through hell”, the paper says. A picture of missing teenager Jay Slater with his mother Debbie is also on the front, as she says she will not “give up” trying to find her son. It comes after Spanish police said they were calling off their search.
Back to football, the Daily Express features a picture of some England fans looking tense while watching the match, with the headline: “Relaxing Sunday? Of course not… you’re watching England!”. In politics, Kemi Badenoch said her “heart breaks” when Conservatives tell her they intend to vote for Reform UK.
“Yaaay Jude!” writes the Daily Star, praising the 21-year-old player for saving England’s Euros hopes on Sunday with a last-minute goal.
