Five governments in two years and a Summer Olympics opening ceremony that sparked a global scandal, this is what France, marked by the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, offers us.
The question is whether President Macron’s resignation would be enough for France to emerge from political chaos.
Presumably, beyond Macron’s resignation, a radical shift in the political course would be needed in the country, including the restoration of a strong national government, something that used to be so tipically French before.
Before French Prime Minister François Bayrou has lost a confidence vote of MPs and his minority government officially collapsed in early September, in his speech to parliament the outgoing PM gave a good summary of his country’s long-standing and mounting problems such as mass migration, poor education, falling industrial growth, spiralling debt, increasing demographic challenges, unsustainability of the pension system, and parallel societies without any cohesion between immigrant communities and the broader French population. Why the French PM had to go and what happens next?
There could be no more accurate summary of why France is unable to overcome the crisis than that of Bayrou. Just a single one of the issues listed above would be enough for any government, not to mention the cumulative impact of these challenges, adding that despite Bayrou’s key issue was tackling France’s debt crisis, he was unable to successfully manage even this crucial issue.
Following Bayrou’s resignation, no snap election was held in France, even though democracy would have required it. Instead, Emmanuel Macron appointed one of his long-term allies Sebastien Lecornu, a former defense minister and a member of the Renaissance party, as prime minister.
What might the French President hope to gain from the appointment of Lecornu who is the fifth PM in less than two years? The question is rhetorical; perhaps even he does not know the answer.
According to Politico, Macron views him as a fixer who ’can bridge the political divide in the parliament’. The answer may be simplier than that. Lecornu often spends his holidays with Macron at the seaside bastion of Fort de Brégançon, media sources say. They are good friends and it is fairly enough to share the No1 and No2 positions in the country between each other. Why Macron thinks Lecornu can save France from the abyss – POLITICO
A number of politicians from the French opposition, including far-right leader Marine Le Pen, have suggested that dissolving the National Assembly and calling snap election would solve the unbearable situation which has started with Macron having taken a gamble in June 2024. Faced with shameful election results for his party in the European Parliament, Macron called a snap parliamentary election which he hoped would achieve a clear majority. Instead, it resulted in a divided parliament with three blocs – left, centre and far right – with no absolute majority and creating a political deadlock for any prime minister to secure the necessary support to pass bills not to mention the yearly budget. French PM François Bayrou expected to be ousted in confidence vote | France | The Guardian
’Dissolving parliament will not be option, but an obligation,’ Le Pen said, speaking about the possible way out of the political instability. Government downfall tests Macron like never before – POLITICO
At the same time, it should be noted that, according to opinion polls, early elections would not necessarily solve the country’s problem with governance, given that the French society is too fragmented for any political force to secure an absolute majority.
To put an end to the internal political crisis, some parties – mainly on the far right and the far left – continue to call for an early presidential election. ’There is only one person responsible for the crisis, for the fiasco and instability, it is the president of the republic,’ said Boris Vallaud, the Socialist Party’s parliamentary leader.
However, Macron’s resignation is unlikely to happen, even disregarding the fact that his popularity has dropped to an all-time low while the far-right National Rally tops the polls. Government downfall tests Macron like never before – POLITICO
In this very tense situation with deep social divisions, the possibility of the revival of the 2018 ’Yellow Vests’ movement has been raised by some commentators suggesting that demonstrations are not uncommon in France. The last time people took to the streets to protest was in 2023 when French authorities raised the pension age from 62 to 64 for those born in 1968 or afterwards.
Possibly as a kind of introduction to a new wave of the ’Yellow Vests’ protests, a nationwide action ’Bloquons tout’ (’Block everything’) has begun on 10 September, with trade unions also ready to go on strike due to their concerns for the proposed budget cuts. ‘Block Everything’ protests sweep across France, scores arrested | Reuters
Protesters across France obstructing highways and burning barricades can easily be identified with a clear show of anger against President Macron who, despite nation-wide protests and frequent government changes does not intent to stand down before his term ends in 2027.
In this situation, his attempts to be more involved in EU and global issues, are nothing but his only escape route out of the political and economic crisis in France. Instead of doing his own job in France, Macron has accompanied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington; instead of opening his ears to the street protesters’ demands, he has hired a new PM and asked him to ’be a bridge’ between them and the Élysee Palace.
This attitute will certainly not be enough for the Gallic rooster to climb out of the pot, to Germany’s great delight.
