In the end, these European elections did not unleash the earthquake many had feared. Some polls had predicted a triumph of the far-right across the bloc, but today’s results show a centre holding ground amid the European parliament’s rightward tilt.

Still, the far right made strong showings in Germany, Italy and France, and, more surprisingly, among young people. Meanwhile, the Greens are but a shadow of their former selves, threatening the bloc’s climate ambitions. Political scientist Amelia Hadfield walks you through these complex results region by region, before reminding us that, when it comes to determining our continent’s future, the European parliament is far from the only game in town.

In France, Emmanuel Macron seems more in the mood for political opera than cool-headed analysis. Yet those who describe the French president’s decision to dissolve parliament as a shock move are overlooking his penchant for disruption and the unique political challenges he faces. Speaking to The Conversation’s Clea Chakraverty, French parliament specialist Julien Robin reminds us that the president was contending, among others, with increasing rumours of no-confidence vote.

While rooting for research on the causes behind the rise of the far-right, this piece looking at the emigration from regions to big cities resonated particularly with me. My hometown in Brittany, Saint-Brieuc, is one of Europe’s cities with the most suburban shopping malls per capita. As a result, the city centre has been drained of life and the once-thriving high street where I would buy my shoes for the school season is boarded up. It is also one of the region’s towns to accept the most refugees. In 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen went head-to-head with Jacques Chirac, 10,000 people (out of a population of 40,000) demonstrated against the far right. Twenty years later, when Macron faced Le Pen’s daughter Martine, there were only 130.

But such developments aren’t inevitable. Pointing to Sweden and Spain, Rafaela Dancygier and David Laitin say mainstream parties can stop regional decline and regain votes by investing into public services.