"It's totally unexpected," said Gérard Araud, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron's sudden decision to dissolve the nation's National Assembly.

"I've been on the phone with a lot of people, ministers, members of Parliament. And to be frank, most of them... are astonished by the gamble of President Macron," he said.

Gérard Araud is a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, and the former Ambassador of France to the United States.