“We are not ashamed of negotiating,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told lawmakers on Thursday before the vote. “We are and will remain in the opposition … but we’ve showed our openness to compromise.” The Socialists had previously signaled they might support Thursday’s no-confidence motion if they weren’t given assurances that the pensions debate would … Read more
PARIS — Marine Le Pen has always walked a tightrope between being the outsider, intent on taking a wrecking ball to the French establishment, and cultivating a more mainstream image to win sufficiently broad support in the hope of one day becoming president. The political crisis that has gripped France has brought that stark choice … Read more
The far right took a different approach. National Rally leader Jordan Bardella accused Macron of ignoring the millions of people who voted for his party by excluding it from the meeting. Retaining control With some of the most radical forces removed from the negotiation table, Macron’s hopes lie in convincing the remaining parties to refrain … Read more
Barnier’s government, which lasted just under three months, collapsed following the conservative grandee’s attempt to push through an austere budget meant to reassure investors and bring down France’s ballooning deficit. The political chaos, and the dim prospects of an immediate resolution, has led a growing number of lawmakers to demand the resignation of the French … Read more
His stance on immigration could prove critical in securing at least tacit support from the far right in parliament. Barnier is in the right-wing Republicans party and has in the past proposed “putting a stop to non-European immigration for three to five years,” a stance close to Le Pen’s own. “It’s undeniable that Michel Barnier seems … Read more
The leftist alliance secured a surprise victory in France’s snap elections, which Macron called after the far right’s triumph in the European elections in June. Despite finishing first, however, the New Popular Front fell far short of an absolute majority. The French Greens, the Communists and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed movement all called on their … Read more
France has been embroiled in a political crisis since Macron called a snap election on June 9, after his camp lost the European election to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally. On July 7, the left-leaning alliance New Popular Front (NFP) garnered the most seats in the National Assembly, followed by Macron’s centrist alliance and … Read more
On Monday, which happened to be Mélenchon’s birthday, Greens leader Marine Tondelier dismissed the impeachment call and warned against the risk that the left-wing “polyphony should not become a cacophony.” While Socialist leader Olivier Faure also distanced himself from Mélenchon’s impeachment call, some within his party are increasingly warning against the extreme positions of the … Read more
The French president instead has called for France to learn parliamentary politics and the art of negotiation that is practiced in other European countries, but his inability to take a step back is stifling progress, said Weissberg. “The president must show that he doesn’t have a solution. He isn’t capable of showing that the ball … Read more
However, the euroskeptics in Budapest or Bratislava don’t have the clout to hollow out the EU on their own. But if joined by founding members like Italy, and perhaps The Netherlands, their promise — or threat — of turning the bloc into a “Europe of nations” becomes ever more possible. Plus, for the right-wing populists … Read more
