Emmanuel Macron is currently facing what may be the most critical challenge to the stability of the Fifth Republic. Sébastien Lecornu, the seventh Prime Minister under Macron’s tenure, failed to secure a functional majority despite attempts to form alliances with familiar political figures, including former prime ministers, leading to his swift resignation. The parliamentary landscape now presents a daunting dilemma: either forge a coalition with left-wing parties or concede to the demands of the populist far right. Macron is deeply concerned that either option could exacerbate the fractures within a nation already grappling with profound turmoil. Since his 2022 re-election, Macron has consistently favored appointing centrist or centre-right prime ministers in hopes of uniting the country, yet this strategy has paradoxically intensified political polarization. Is there potential for a moderate socialist leader to bridge the divide between centre-left and centre-right factions, thereby revitalizing France’s strong executive framework rooted in the semi-democratic and historically pragmatic Fifth Republic? To explore this unprecedented political impasse, Eve Irvine engages with Dr. Nicholas Startin, Associate Professor of International Relations at John Cabot University and expert in political science.
French Parliamentary Math Signals Possible PM Coalition Between Left and Populist (Far) Right
