Sunday’s left-wing success caused a major surprise in France: now President Emmanuel Macron faces the next hurdle, analyses Kurt Seinitz, foreign policy expert at ‘Krone’.
President Macron had succeeded in making the French afraid of the advance of the far-right. For this he paid a high price for self-weakening – which was certainly not his intention: his election programme came in second place, after the left-wing Popular Front.
No party can govern alone
Now no party can govern alone. Macron must form a coalition government, which is completely unusual in France, or install a “technical” government that aims for changing majorities in parliament. Either way, political stability is gone.
The victorious Popular Front is a loose alliance of left-wing parties. Its self-proclaimed leader, the ultra-left nationalist demagogue Mélenchon, immediately claimed government. Macron’s next hurdle is to prevent Mélenchon.
The government is likely to face stiff opposition
Le Pen’s party has almost doubled its number of seats. It will be a tough opposition. This opens the door to revenge in the 2027 presidential elections, when governments are exhausted.
The election results are giving the financial markets a headache. France is heavily in debt. Macron is responsible for this. Now the Popular Front wants to use yesterday’s recipes to open all the money floodgates and reverse the hated increase in the retirement age.
France 2024: Europe will still have to pull together.
Source: Krone
I am George Kunkel, an author working for Today Times Live. I specialize in opinion pieces and cover stories that are both informative and thought-provoking – helping to shape public discourse on key issues. My work is regularly featured across the network’s many platforms, including print media and social media.
