France July 2024 –

France warns Donald Trump against threatening EU ‘sovereign borders’
Foreign minister hits out after US president-elect refuses to rule out military action to take control of Greenland
France has warned Donald Trump against threatening the “sovereign borders” of the European Union after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the EU member Denmark.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio: “There is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be, attack its sovereign borders.”
He added that, while he did not believe the US “would invade” Greenland, “we have entered an era that is seeing the return of the law of the strongest”.

2024

Paris Olympics 2024

18-19 December
What It Looks Like on an Island Steamrolled by a Cyclone
A visit to the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, which were struck by Cyclone Chido last weekend, reveals the devastating toll of the storm on an impoverished territory that belongs to France.
(NYT) The hillsides surrounding the harbor of the tiny French territory of Mayotte have been transformed into barren mounds of leafless, uprooted trees. Sailboats lie on their sides, consumed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.
Piles of twisted metal, bricks, insulation and other debris line the steep, narrow streets of Mamoudzou, the capital of this archipelago along the east coast of Africa. Amid all this destruction caused by Cyclone Chido, which struck last weekend, a few residents sat on the sidewalk in a downpour on Thursday, setting out buckets to capture water, which has become a valuable commodity with taps dry since the storm.
Macron skips EU summit to visit cyclone-hit island Mayotte
Authorities fear that several thousand could be dead after a devastating cyclone hit the French region in the Indian Ocean.
Macron will be represented at the council by his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, “in accordance with established practice between France and Germany,” the French presidency said in a statement. He will attend Wednesday evening’s EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels, it added.
According to an official from the Elysée Palace, the conclusions of the European Council summit have been “pre-agreed” and there are no “drafting issues” that are likely to emerge. “The French positions were included in the preparations phase,” said the official in a briefing with the reporters.
New French Prime Minister François Bayrou off to a nightmarish start
Bayrou’s decision to stay on as mayor of a small city has drawn controversy as he struggles to negotiate with opposition parties.
During his first speech as prime minister last Friday, François Bayrou described the challenge ahead of him as being “Himalayan.”
A few days into his new job, the 73-year-old centrist has done little to prove he’ll be able to climb the mountain.
Bayrou’s first few days at Matignon, the residence of the French prime minister, have been marred by controversy over his insistence on keeping a side job as mayor of Pau — a small city in southwestern France — and his handling of the crisis that followed the devastating cyclone in the French overseas region of Mayotte.

11 December
France to Set Out Emergency Law to Avert Government Shutdown
Special finance bill needed after Barnier government collapsed
Stopgap measures to have uncertain impact on finances, economy
Emmanuel Macron under pressure to appoint new prime minister this week
Outgoing Michel Barnier warns any government will face challenge of debt and a divided society

7 December
Macron’s got a shiny new Notre Dame and it’s sure to dazzle Trump
The ancient Paris cathedral has been restored to its former glory. Saturday’s reopening ceremony will become just another chapter in the bromance between two presidents.
(Politico Eu) … Few can forget the 29-second alpha-male white-knuckle handshake between the pair at a NATO summit in Brussels in 2017, Macron’s first big international appearance, which he described as a “moment of truth”.
…in 2024 the relationship continues to flourish. Macron rushed to congratulate Trump on his victory last month even before it was confirmed. As Trump prepares to land in the French capital, Macron hopes to leverage what French officials describe as a “proximity” with his American counterpart to convince him that he’s the European he should be listening to.
U.S. officials and Trump’s camp see Macron as better-positioned to manage ties with Trump than other NATO leaders — including Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Germany and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.

4-6 December
As Notre-Dame reopens, Macron stands in ashes of French political edifice
Macron to preside over Notre-Dame reopening on Saturday
At least 35 world leaders, including Trump, to attend
Reopening comes days after French government collapse
(Reuters) – The reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral, five years after being devastated by a fire, was supposed to be Emmanuel Macron’s triumph.
The French president has often used the reconstruction of Notre-Dame as a parable for his own fortunes, repeating that he was ridiculed in 2019 when he promised to rebuild it in five years and that, defying sceptics, he got the job done.
He did that again in a televised speech on Thursday, telling the country the reopening of Notre-Dame was “proof that we can do great things, we can do the impossible” and adding: “We must do the same for the nation.”
French Socialist leader extends olive branch to Macron as talks on next government begin
The left is under pressure after it toppled Prime Minister Barnier with the help of the far right.
(Politico Eu) The first signs of how the next French government could be formed started to emerge on Friday when the Socialist leader said he was prepared to discuss a compromise with President Emmanuel Macron.
The move, by Olivier Faure, could potentially see the Socialists support a government with Macron’s centrists and the conservatives.
Emmanuel Macron struggles on in search for stable French government
Macron seeks new PM after Barnier quit
President meets with Socialist leader Faure
Macron refuses to resign, blames far right, hard left for crisis
Parties oppose plans for 2025 budget bill
(Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron began his latest search for a prime minister on Friday as the centre-left Socialists signalled they were open to joining a broad government coalition, sparking tensions inside an increasingly fragile leftwing bloc.
Macron this week rejected demands to resign to resolve France’s political crisis, saying conservative prime minister Michel Barnier had been driven from office by the far right and extreme left’s “anti-republican front”.
Defiant Macron vows to stay on as French president and will appoint PM within days
President says he will remain in power until 2027, amid political turmoil following collapse of government
French government collapse turns the screws on Macron
Prime Minister Michel Barnier will leave office having served the shortest prime ministerial term in modern French history.
(Politico Eu) … As the crisis — largely triggered by Macron’s knee-jerk call for a snap election this summer — mounted to fever pitch, the president stayed on the sidelines.
He arrived back at the Élysée palace from Saudi Arabia only just before his government collapsed and will now need to take the helm himself, not least by proposing a new prime minister who can right the ship and prove that the EU’s second-largest economy has not become ungovernable.
Collapse of France’s Government Further Burdens Its Weak Economy
Already struggling with flat growth and a large debt and deficit, the country faces a new period of instability without a functioning government or a budget.
(NYT) France’s prime minister, Michel Barnier, and his cabinet were ousted after a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday
As France prepared for deepening political turmoil after a parliamentary vote on Wednesday that toppled the government, one thing was clear: The paralysis risked unleashing a fresh wave of distress across one of Europe’s biggest economies.
Business leaders, who had been grappling with uncertainty for months, say they are bracing for a hit to growth. Unions warn of widening layoffs. Thousands of civil servants, including teachers, hospital staff, airport employees and workers in the gas and electricity sectors, are planning street protests across the country for Thursday.
France’s economy was already in a rough patch when a deeply divided Parliament backed a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier, ousting him and his cabinet and leaving the country without a functioning government or a budget for next year to rein in France’s troubled finances.
… High energy costs and interest rates, a downturn in domestic industry, falling consumer confidence and a slowdown in business investment have left growth largely flat for the last two years. Political instability since Mr. Macron dissolved Parliament in the summer and held snap elections that led to a more deeply fractured legislature caused businesses to further pause investment and hiring.
The schism on Wednesday risks ushering in “a new period of instability,” said the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises, which represents the bulk of French businesses that make up the backbone of activity.
“A France without a budget would open the door to a debt crisis, the consequences of which would hit economic players hard,” the group said.
The turmoil heralds a somber chapter for France, a cornerstone of Europe’s euro currency union. France has long been an engine of growth alongside Germany, but both countries have been steadily weakened since 2021 by Europe’s energy crisis and high interest rates, turning them from leaders of the bloc into laggards.
But in recent months, fiscal troubles have piled on France’s problems. The country has been grappling with a ballooning debt and deficit, the result of unbridled government spending by Mr. Macron since pandemic lockdowns. That has fueled the concerns about the country’s creditworthiness by investors who have pushed France’s borrowing costs above those of crisis-scarred Greece.

3 December
It’s the best of times for Notre Dame, but the worst of times for the French PM
Angelique Chrisafis
It seems Michel Barnier’s experience of negotiating Brexit with the British was no match for the bitter rivalry of French politics
When Emmanuel Macron welcomes world leaders to the reopening of Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral this weekend, after fire damaged it five years ago, he might have hoped it would serve as a metaphor for people from all backgrounds coming together to prevent a hallowed edifice collapsing.
Instead, it is likely the French government itself will have fallen by Wednesday evening, with voters’ trust of politicians and the political process in charred ruins.
The French president is entering a new period of political uncertainty and parliamentary chaos, which critics say is of his own making. The repercussions are still being felt from his gamble of calling a snap parliamentary election in June.

2 December
Trump to attend reopening of Notre Dame in Paris
The visit will be his first major outing since winning the election

What will happen if France’s government loses no-confidence vote?
Decision to push through budget has led to censure motions from left and far-right that could trigger fresh political crisis
French government faces no-confidence vote on Wednesday
PM Michel Barnier tells MPs they face ‘moment of truth’ after left and right lodge motions censuring government
(Bloomberg) Marine Le Pen pledged to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government after he failed to meet her demands on a new budget, threatening financial and political disruption for France. Barnier on Monday invoked a constitutional mechanism that allows for a social security bill to be adopted without a vote, but opens the door to no-confidence motions. Le Pen said her far-right National Rally party would join a left-wing bloc to support dissolving the government, all but ensuring the outcome. The National Rally is the largest party in the lower house of parliament, making Le Pen the most influential powerbroker in Paris. Even though Barnier agreed to almost all of her demands to tweak the budget legislation, Le Pen said she wouldn’t back the bill because of the government’s refusal to adjust pension payment increases.

30 November
Trump Names Charles Kushner as Pick for Ambassador to France
The announcement elevated Mr. Kushner, the father of President Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law and the recipient of a presidential pardon at the end of Mr. Trump’s first term.
(NYT) Mr. Kushner, 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, a single count of retaliating against a federal witness and one of lying to the Federal Election Commission in a case that became a lasting source of embarrassment for the family. As part of the plea, Mr. Kushner admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a witness in a federal campaign finance investigation, and sending a videotape of the encounter to his sister.

29 November
Why has France’s austerity budget caused a political storm?
Country is at risk of fresh turmoil with its government on the brink amid soaring sovereign borrowing costs
France is at risk of being plunged into fresh political turmoil as its minority government teeters on the brink of collapse amid opposition anger over a planned austerity budget.
Reflecting growing unease in financial markets, French sovereign borrowing costs have risen sharply, reaching the highest premium over German bonds since the height of the eurozone debt crisis in 2012.
At the heart of the dispute is the prime minister Michel Barnier’s plans for a budget involving €60bn (£50bn) of spending cuts and tax rises despite lacking a majority in parliament, leading to threats from the French far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, to topple the government.
On Thursday, Barnier made a key concession by dropping plans to raise a tax on electricity. But while the far-right National Rally president, Jordan Bardella, claimed a “victory” over the step, he warned “other red lines remain”.

13 November
Macron to visit Notre Dame Cathedral before reopening after 2019 fire
French president to give ‘republican and secular’ speech outside monument days before it reopens to public
As firefighters doused the embers of the blaze that threatened to destroy Notre Dame Cathedral on 16 April 2019, Emmanuel Macron promised the church would be restored “more beautiful than ever” within five years.
In two weeks, the French president will visit the monument that has been returned to its former glory with the help of millions in donations and hundreds of specialist artisans using age-old skills.
His visit will come days before the cathedral is officially opened on 7 December in an international ceremony at which Macron will make a short speech from the courtyard outside the cathedral, maintaining France’s 1905 law outlining the separation of church and state.
“This speech will be addressed to all French people,” the Élysée Palace said on Wednesday. “It will be a republican and secular moment before a religious and musical moment in Notre-Dame”.

9 October
France’s President Emmanuel Macron Joined by Nearly 50 World Leaders at the Francophonie Summit to Discuss Cultural, Technology Challenges
(Variety) Nearly 50 heads of governments from different continents, including Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Cambodia’s King Norodim Sihamoni and Georgia’s President Salomé Zourabichvili, joined France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Francophonie Summit, a two-day event celebrating French-speaking cultures.
The event, which took place Oct. 4-5 at the Cité Internationale in the Villers-Cotterêts and at the Grand Palais in Paris, saw world leaders and heads of international organizations such as UNESCO discuss the importance of having a unified voice when tackling issues revolving around cultural, diplomatic and tech challenges, including AI.

La France accueille le XIXᵉ Sommet de la Francophonie les 4 et 5 octobre.
2024 sera une année de fierté de la langue française.
Événement majeur dont les enjeux sont politiques, économiques, numériques et culturels, le Sommet sera l’un des temps forts internationaux de l’année 2024 en France avec l’accueil des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques, le 80ᵉ anniversaire du Débarquement et de la Libération et la réouverture de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

3 October
Macron hosts Francophone leaders in bid to boost French influence
(France24) President Emmanuel Macron hosts the “Francophonie” summit this week in a bid to bolster French clout in a conflict-ridden world, in particular Africa. Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby, an ally of France and regular visitor to Paris, will be a prominent guest, as will Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
La ministre Joly se rendra en France pour participer au 19e Sommet de la Francophonie
La ministre Joly rencontrera ses homologues des pays membres de la Francophonie pour faire progresser des objectifs communs, tels que le soutien aux droits de la personne, la promotion de la démocratie et l’égalité des genres. Elle discutera également de l’importance de la langue française comme levier de développement économique et culturel, et explorera des moyens de consolider les relations entre les États membres.
Le 19e Sommet de la Francophonie, sous le thème « Créer, innover et entreprendre en français », sera l’occasion pour la ministre Joly de se joindre au premier ministre Justin Trudeau afin de promouvoir la langue française et de réaffirmer l’engagement du Canada envers la Francophonie.

27 September
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced that he will travel to Villers-Cotterêts and Paris, France, from October 3 to 5, 2024, to participate in the 19th Sommet de la Francophonie.
At this year’s Summit, held under the theme “Create, innovate and do business in French”, the Prime Minister will defend and promote the French language, which is an invaluable asset to Canada.

25 September
The ‘Obama effect’ is coming for Macron and Trudeau
As the French president visits Canada, both he and Trudeau are grappling with declining popularity and the rise of right-wing movements that challenge their political legacies.

26 August
Macron rejects left’s PM candidate, keeping governance talks stalled
France remains stuck in political limbo after President Emmanuel Macron on Monday refused to accept the election-winning left’s candidate for prime minister.
(Politico Eu) Macron — who, as head of state, is responsible for appointing a new prime minister and government — met with party heads and parliamentary leaders across the political spectrum Monday. He then issued a statement indicating he wouldn’t name a head of government from the left-wing New Popular Front coalition that won June’s legislative election, arguing that this would lead to instability.
Chaos in France after Macron refuses to name prime minister from leftwing coalition
(The Guardian) France has been plunged into further political chaos after Emmanuel Macron refused to name a prime minister from the leftwing coalition that won the most parliamentary seats in the snap election last month.
The president had hoped consultations would break the political deadlock caused by the election that left the Assemblée Nationale divided into three roughly equal blocks – left, centre and far right – none of which has a majority of seats.
After two days of talks with party and parliamentary leaders to break the stalemate and allow him to name a prime minister with cross-party support, Macron’s decision not to choose the New Popular Front’s candidate was met with anger and threats of impeachment.
19 August
Macron hoping new round of talks can break French government deadlock
President to meet party and parliamentary leaders this week for ‘series of exchanges’ in effort to end stalemate
France has been led by a caretaker administration since the July general election failed to leave any party with a working majority in the national assembly.
After Macron’s centrist government resigned, the Olympics offered the president a brief window to put domestic politics on hold for what he called a “truce”, but more than a week after the Games closed, critics have accused him of playing for time.

26 July
France’s train network hit by arson attacks hours before Olympic ceremony
Attacks cause chaos hours before Games start
Massive security operation in place
Possible suspects include leftist militants, environmental activists
(Reuters) – Saboteurs struck France’s TGV high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks across the country, causing travel chaos and exposing security gaps ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony later on Friday.
The coordinated sabotage took place as France mounted a massive security operation,
opens new tab involving tens of thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the capital for the sporting extravaganza, sucking in security resources from across the country.
SNCF, the state-owned railway operator, said vandals had damaged signal substations and cables along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks on the high-speed rail network, which is a source of national pride for many in France. Two security sources said the modus operandi meant initial suspicions fell on leftist militants or environmental activists, but they said there was not yet any evidence.

24 July
Russian chef arrested in Paris over alleged ‘large scale’ Olympic Games plot
40-year-old arrested in central Paris on Sunday
Espionage suspected as man charged and detained
(The Guardian) A Russian chef who has lived in France for 14 years has been arrested on suspicion of plotting with a foreign power to stage “large scale” acts of “destabilisation” during the Olympic Games in Paris.
The 40-year-old man was arrested during a raid of his apartment in central Paris on Sunday where a document linked to an elite Russian special forces unit operating under the command of the FSB, an heir to the KGB, was reportedly found.
A judicial investigation has been opened into allegations of sharing “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France,” a crime punishable by 30 years of imprisonment. The alleged plot is not believed to have been terror related.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said that “other Russian individuals” had been arrested amid evidence at attempts to spread disinformation ahead of the Games.
“We think very strongly that he was going to organise operations of destabilisation, interference, spying,” Darmanin told BFM television. “He’s now in the justice system which will be able to confirm the suspicions of the police.”

French president accepts prime minister’s resignation but keeps him as head of caretaker government
(AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the prime minister’s resignation Tuesday but kept him on as head of a caretaker government, as France prepares to host the Paris Olympics at the end of the month.
The president’s office said in a statement that Macron “accepted” the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and other ministers on Tuesday. Attal and other government members are “to handle current affairs until a new government is being appointed,” the statement said.
There is no firm timeline for when Macron must name a new prime minister, following parliamentary elections this month that left the National Assembly with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France’s modern Republic.
The caretaker government led by Attal will focus only on handling day-to-day affairs.

7-8 July

Jeremy Kinsman: France’s Election: A Good Night for the Left, a Bad One for Le Pen, and a Mixed Bag for Macron
(The Atlantic) A chastened Macron must now bend to share government with the democratic left, which by evidence is much closer than he is to public sentiment today; on the cost of living, the hardship of the daily grind, income disparity, and the eternal wall between Parisian elites and les cols bleus.
But Macron can take satisfaction that he won a showdown with Madame le Pen that ought to dampen her optimism about finally winning a presidential election 2027 (her 7th try).
This is good news for Europe, Ukraine, immigrants, inclusion, and participatory democracy.
And whatever the nuances, it’s a massive relief in France, and far and wide.

Bardella to lead new far-right European Parliament group
The leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, will head a new right-wing grouping in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe.
(BBC) The announcement came the day after Mr Bardella’s party lost the second round of France’s snap legislative election.
In a post-election speech on Sunday night, Mr Bardella announced that the RN’s members of the European Parliament (MEPs) would join a “large group” that would influence the “balance of power in Europe, rejecting the flood of migrants, punitive ecology, and the seizing of our sovereignty”.
On Monday Mr Bardella said Patriots for Europe represented “hope for the tens of millions of citizens in the European nations who value their identity, their sovereignty and their freedom”.
Anne Applebaum on X: “Note that Bardella hints that opponents are illegitimate – says a “dishonourable alliance’ prevented victory. That is very much the language of autocratic populism”

5 things to know about France’s messy election
What happens now? Did Macron’s snap election work? Is Le Pen finished? POLITICO walks you through the rubble.
Governing France will be hellish now
The 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house of France’s legislature, is not a pretty sight — split between the left, the center and the far-right. No group is even close to a majority, with all of them falling short of 200 MPs.
Le Pen is down, but not out
the party dramatically increased the number of its lawmakers in the National Assembly. How much longer can the establishment keep them out of power?
Macron’s gamble backfired, but it could have been worse
Before the snap election, the president commanded the largest group in parliament. Now he will likely have to work with an opposition politician as prime minister. His authority at home and credibility abroad have been damaged.
Mélenchon won’t be in charge
Mélenchon can’t even convince other parties within the loose left-wing alliance he is part of to put him in power – The broader leftist coalition — under the banner of the New Popular Front — is falling out already. Its leaders on Sunday evening were sending conflicting messages about their goals.
What might emerge from the mess?
There’s no easy answer to this one. As no party has won outright, it’s possible the president could opt for a cooling off period that will give parties time to hold coalition talks.
Macron could then sound out a left-wing figure to form a government, given that the left has emerged as the largest group in parliament.
The Socialist Party for instance has entirely not ruled out building a wider coalition but it’s unlikely that Mélenchon’s France Unbowed would agree to watering down its manifesto.
Alternatively, Macron could appoint a caretaker government, keeping Attal as PM. He could even adopt the Italian model and nominate a technocratic team of experts under a consensual figure. Such an administration would refrain from making ambitious plans and focus on keeping the wheels of the state in motion.

French voters deliver a win for the left, a blow for Le Pen and a hung parliament
Pollsters see leftist alliance first with up to 198 seats
Macron’s centrists projected to win up to 169 seats
Far-right RN and allies seen winning up to 143 seats
Much uncertainty over shape of next government
(Reuters) – France faced potential political deadlock after elections on Sunday threw up a hung parliament, with a leftist alliance unexpectedly taking the top spot but no group winning a majority.
Voters delivered a major setback for Marine Le Pen’s nationalist, eurosceptic National Rally (RN), which opinion polls had predicted would win the second-round ballot but ended up in the third spot, according to pollsters’ projections.
The results were also a blow for centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who called the snap election to clarify the political landscape after his ticket took a battering at the hands of the RN in European Parliament elections last month.
He ended up with a hugely fragmented parliament, in what is set to weaken France’s role in the European Union and elsewhere abroad and make it hard for anyone to push through a domestic agenda.

2 July
The Trussing Hour
Although Liz Truss’s disastrous stint as UK prime minister in 2022 should have warned others of the dangers of fiscal activism, radical parties in France seem to have learned nothing. The stage may be set for another collision between a reckless government and financial markets, with central bankers caught in the middle.
Notwithstanding the historical lessons, trussing politicians will continue to demonize central banks. That may well happen in France this year, and it is likely to happen in the United States if Donald Trump wins the presidential election this November. Limitations on government action often lead angry citizens to demand more radical and destabilizing options, and that can lead countries to turn in on themselves and abandon international commitments, financial stability be damned.

1 July
Roger Cohen: The Center Collapses in France, Leaving Macron Marooned
Squeezed by the far-right National Rally party and the left, President Emmanuel Macron faces a country that may prove ungovernable.
…one of the more conspicuous self-inflicted debacles in recent European politics.
Mr. Macron did not have to call an election just weeks before the Paris Olympics, even though the National Rally trounced him in European parliamentary elections. It is a measure of the desperate straits of France today that a meager victory for Mr. Macron would now be defined as keeping the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, from an absolute majority in the National Assembly, even if the price of that is ungovernable chaos.

The far-right National Rally won big in the first round of voting. Just how big will not be clear until after runoffs are held on July 7.
(NYT) President Emmanuel Macron’s risky decision to call snap legislative elections in France has backfired badly, enabling the far right to dominate the first round of voting held on Sunday.
But the French will return to the polls next Sunday for a second round of voting to choose their representatives in the 577-seat National Assembly, the country’s lower and more prominent house of Parliament.
France is in unpredictable territory, with the future of Mr. Macron’s second term at stake. The nationalist, anti-immigrant National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen , has never been closer to potentially governing the country.
France’s parties launch new push after far-right success
France’s political rivals barely had time to digest the results of National Rally (RN)’s election success, before they had to kick-start a new campaign for the final vote.
The anti-immigration party secured one in three votes in the first round of parliamentary elections. They have now set their sights on winning an absolute majority.
RN leader Jordan Bardella, who hopes to be France’s next PM, appealed to voters to make a choice between a left-wing alliance he called “an existential threat to the French nation” and a party of patriots ready to leap into action.
PM Gabriel Attal, who may be days from losing his job, says the stakes are clear – to stop the far right winning an absolute majority.