"Three French governments have collapsed in less than a year, and the political crisis looks likely to continue, overshadowing Emmanuel Macron's last 18 months in power and his domestic legacy. This week, the latest minority government narrowly survived its first vote of no-confidence. But it remains the weakest cabinet in decades and could be toppled at any moment if opposition parties join together to oust it."
"Political analysts argue that that the figure most damaged by the current crisis is the centrist president. The pro-Europe, pro-business Macron was first elected in 2017, vowing to revolutionise politics and listen to voters like no one had done before. He promised a pragmatic cherrypicking of ideas from both left and right to liberalise the economy, create jobs after decades of mass-unemployment and end inequality."
"There were major crises: the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) anti-government revolt, followed by the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine. And when he was re-elected in 2022, Macron no longer had an absolute majority in parliament. But his woes deepened considerably last summer when he gambled on calling a sudden and inconclusive snap parliamentary election while Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally was at a historic high after its European election win."
Three governments collapsed within a year, leaving a minority cabinet that narrowly survived a no-confidence vote but remains vulnerable to being toppled. Parliament faces a fraught two-month battle to pass a budget amid a split between left, centre and far-right blocs with no absolute majority. The centrist presidency has eroded as its base fragments after a failed snap election gamble and rising far-right support. Major shocks — the gilets jaunes revolt, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine — compounded governance challenges. Several crises are mixed together, including public debt pressures and deep social and political strains.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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